State lawmakers have renamed a bridge on Interstate 75 that spans State Route 2/U.S. Highway 64 in Ooltewah in honor of late state Rep. Mike Carter, the Chattanoogan reports. The renaming was included in the Transportation Omnibus Bill, which Gov. Bill Lee signed off on earlier this month. The bridge will now be known as the “State Representative Mike Carter Memorial Bridge.” Bill sponsor Rep. Dan Howell, R-Cleveland, said Carter “was a dedicated, highly respected public servant, attorney, judge and state representative for House District 29.” He added that the late representative “did a lot for Tennessee and left his imprint on this body.”

Register now to join your colleagues at the 2022 TBA Annual Convention before the price increases on June 1. The in-person event is set for June 15-18 at the downtown Nashville Hilton, featuring key convention events such as the Better Right Now and Legislative Update CLE programs, Bench Bar CLE and Luncheon, Lawyers Luncheon and more. In person law school breakfasts are back for the first time since 2019 and the Thursday evening Bench/Bar social event will include dinner and a live band on the rooftop of Nashville's new Fifth & Broadway entertainment venue. The current event rate is $425 for TBA members, but will increase to $495 after June 1. Learn more and get registered here.

Morgan & Akins PLLC has an opening in its Nashville office for an attorney with general liability and/or workers’ compensation experience. Defense work preferred but not necessary.  Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience and includes a benefits package. Excellent writing and communication skills are required, as is the ability to work independently and collaborate with other attorneys. To apply for the position, please send a resume and writing sample to nakins@morganakins.com and cjackson@morganakins.com. Find more on this position and others on the TBA’s JobLink site.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order Tuesday requesting comments on a proposal to change the requirements for comity. The proposal, submitted by The Network of Enlightened Women, would amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, Section 5.01(c) to remove the requirement that the lawyer maintain a full time law practice or full time law school teaching position. Comments should be submitted by July 25. Comments should reference the docket number and be e-mailed or mailed to: James M. Hivner, Clerk, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. North, Nashville, TN 37219-1407.

In an appeal from the 9th Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week held that a federal habeas court may not conduct an evidentiary hearing or consider evidence beyond that developed in the state court record based on the ineffective assistance of post-conviction counsel. The respondents, both Arizona prisoners convicted of capital offenses, had filed for federal habeas relief on the basis that trial counsel had been ineffective and that post-conviction counsel had, in turn, been ineffective by failing to properly present those claims in state court. As a result, the claims had been procedurally defaulted. In district court, respondents were permitted to supplement the record with evidence not presented in state court in order to show cause to excuse the procedural default; in one case, the 9th Circuit remanded for further evidentiary development. In its reversal, the court reiterated the standard that "[w]ith respect to cause, attorney error cannot provide cause to excuse a default in proceedings for which the Constitution does not guarantee the assistance of counsel at all." Read more from SCOTUSblog.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday suspended 14 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; 10 of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the May 25 fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended for fee and IOLTA violations in 2022 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

"There are some occupational mindset hazards that we learn in law school. While these mindsets may help us in the practice of law, they undermine our resiliency," says Robert Goldman J.D., Psy.D. Goldman is an advisor on the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Attorney Wellbeing. He examines "Why the Legal System Needs to Prioritize Attorney Wellbeing" in this Psychology Today article.

As he approaches retirement after nearly three decades at the University of Tennessee College of Law, Dean Doug Blaze reflects on what he calls the school’s “special culture of leadership.” Writing in the school’s Leading as Lawyers Blog, he says this culture of servant-leadership is embodied by colleagues who share four characteristics in common: (1) showing care and concern for colleagues, students, staff and clients; (2) promoting the law school and others over themselves; (3) being authentic and dependable; and (4) dedication to making the school the best it can be. These characteristics have made the school a wonderful place to serve, and though “change is in the air,” Blaze says he is excited about the future of the institution. “As I look around at my colleagues, I know the shared culture of servant-leadership will continue. The future is very bright. And it will be fun to watch.”

The Nashville law firm of Ferraro Hancock & Associates recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a reception at Deacon's New South. The firm focuses on bankruptcy, litigation, real estate, business and transactional law, child custody and family law. The Nashville Post has a slideshow from the event. 

NewsChannel 5 is raising questions about how Davidson County General Sessions Judge Rachel Bell spent money from a $200,000 federal grant. The channel said it appears Bell used funds intended for a diversion program for office space in a building owned by her parents and made rent payments to Solutions Now, a company she owns. Dennis Dycus, who spent 39 years auditing local governments and nonprofits at the State Comptroller's Office, says the arrangement is unusual. "You can't pay yourself, and that appears to be what is happening here." Six months later, Bell hired a program director and was provided office space in the Justice A.A. Birch Courthouse and the nonprofit McGruder Center. Bell said the spaces she paid for housed items used for expungement clinics and Saturday Community Service Work dockets, but that the expenses were “pre-approved, reviewed and properly administered” by the Administrative Office of the Courts.” The AOC told NewsChannel 5 that it did not pre-approve the expenses and only learned this week of the connection between Bell and Solutions Now.