Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) will hold a Thursday afternoon Courthouse Advice & Counsel Clinic starting at 1 p.m. CST at the Shelby County Courthouse, 140 Adams St., Room 134. Volunteer lawyers are needed to help clients navigating the court system. This clinic is held the first and third Thursdays of the month. For more information or to sign up to help call 901-523-8822 or fill out this Google form.

Memphis and Nashville based attorneys Anne Hamer and Dan Taylor have opened Hamer & Taylor in Nashville. They will be joined by John N. Bean, Andrew Z. Graham and retired judge Dan Michael. The firm will focus on family law matters, including divorce proceedings, child custody disputes and post-divorce issues. The firm is located at 222 2nd Ave., Ste. 1700, Nashville 37201. It can be reached at 615-723-5650 or online at hamertaylor.com. Read more in a press release from the group.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently issued an order declining to adopt proposed amendments to Supreme Court Rule 9, section 16, which would have replaced section 16 in its entirety and changed the procedure for complaints against members of the board, district committee members and disciplinary counsel. The court said it received comments on the proposal from the Board of Professional Responsibility and the Knoxville Bar Association. Following the comment period, the court decided to adopt “minor revisions” to the rule instead. See a red line version of the section and the new rule in this order from the court.

The Defendant, Jeffrey Clay Dale, was convicted by a Maury County Circuit Court jury of two counts of driving under the influence, third offense, which the trial court merged. See T.C.A. §§ 55-10-401(1) (2020) (driving under the influence of an intoxicant), -401(2) (driving with a blood- or breath-alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more), 55-10-402 (a)(3)(A) (2020) (subsequently amended) (third offense driving under the influence). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days, with 140 days to be served in jail and the balance on probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and (2) the trial court erred in allowing a law enforcement officer to testify about his observations during field sobriety testing of the Defendant. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The appellant is the Mayor of Shelby County. He filed a complaint for divorce, and the Shelby County chancellor originally assigned to the case recused herself. The case was reassigned to another Shelby County chancellor who accepted the case. Six months later, the appellant filed a motion to recuse the chancellor based on the Mayor’s budgetary duties regarding Shelby County government, including the chancery court and the chancery court clerk. The chancellor denied the motion, finding that it was not filed promptly in accordance with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B. We affirm.

On Feb. 1, Memphis-based Farris Bobango will combine with New Orleans-based Phelps Dunbar and operate under the Phelps Dunbar name, the Memphis Business Journal reports. In addition to Louisiana, Phelps has more than 400 lawyers in 15 cities in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas, and overseas in London. Farris Bobango will continue to provide clients assistance with mergers and acquisitions, government relations and tax incentive financing, as well as environmental, construction, and commercial litigation matters. The combined firms will bring cybersecurity, intellectual property and health care legal practice to Memphis. Read more in a press release from the firms.

Law School Admission Council Inc. (LSAC) President Kellye Testy will step down this summer to become executive director of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), Reuters reports. The move follows the retirement of Judy Areen, who served as AALS’ executive director for the last decade. Testy has led LSAC since 2017 and overseen a number of key changes to the law school admission test.

The TBA’s 19th Annual Bankruptcy Law Forum will take place April 12-14 in a new location! After many years of hosting the forum in Gatlinburg, the program will move to Chattanooga for 2024. Make plans now to join colleagues for this three-day experience, learning from some of the region’s top bankruptcy practitioners and sitting judges. This year's faculty includes U.S. Bankruptcy Judges Denise E. Barnett from Memphis, Suzanne H. Bauknight from Knoxville, Nicholas W. Whittenburg from Chattanooga and Paul Bonapfel from Atlanta, as well as Chapter 13 Trustees Debra Miller from Knoxville and Kara West from Chattanooga. The forum’s most unique element — pairing attendees with judges in small groups to discuss specific consumer and commercial case problems — also is back to help practioners analyze the real-world problems bankruptcy lawyers face. Other topics include developments impacting mortgages in bankruptcies, new amendments to Article 9 of the UCC, ethical issues that arise in bankruptcy and case law updates. Finally, attendees will join faculty and judges on Saturday evening for dinner. Get more details, the full schedule and registration link here.

The TBA will be closed Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The office will reopen Tuesday at 8 a.m. CST. Visit the TBA.org website for information on CLE or other TBA programs and for staff contact information.

The Memphis Mock Trial Competition will be held Feb. 22-25. All rounds will take place at 140 Adams and 20 volunteers are needed for each round. Volunteers must arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of each round for instructions to ensure a prompt starting time. Complete this form to indicate when you are available.