The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, and the Tennessee Department of Revenue are altering consumers to problems related to the online purchase of vehicles in Tennessee. Buyers have filed complaints about purchased vehicles arriving with damage not disclosed in the online ad and some have experienced problems obtaining a clear title and registering vehicles purchased online. With few remedies available to consumers who purchase a vehicle online from an unlicensed seller, Attorney General Herbert Slatery is urging the public to “Take your time, check for a license before you buy.” The AG's Office has more. 

James L. Weatherly and Jacqueline B. Dixon, partners at Nashville’s Weatherly & Dixon PLLC, have merged their law firm with Lewis Thomason PC. Weatherly, who was elected public defender for Metro Nashville-Davidson County from 1982-86, practiced more than 20 years with the firm of Hollins, Wagster & Yarbrough. His practice now includes criminal defense, family law, personal injury and general civil litigation. Dixon, a past president of the Tennessee Bar Association, has more than 35 years of experience in the areas of family law, wills, estates, probate, personal injury and other types of civil litigation as well as appellate work. She is also a family law mediator. Read the full release from Lewis Thomason.

The May/June Tennessee Bar Journal gets serious about legal burnout in this article by Rebecca Howlett and Cynthia Sharp. Mark Travis writes about the new law that ends arbitration of sexual harassment claims, and Sherie Edwards recounts her year as TBA president with gratitude. And don't miss our columnists' takes on vaccinations, revenge porn and a look at Calvin Coolidge. Our estate planning column changes hands this month as Knoxville lawyer Eddy Smith takes it up again, as our 18-year veteran steps down from writing it. Read about the estate planning legend, Dan Holbrook. Read the new Journal. 

All five executions scheduled for this year have been paused by Gov. Bill Lee as the state awaits a third-party review of lethal injection protocols in Tennessee, WPLN reports. Lee stopped the execution of Oscar Smith on April 21 after discovering the lethal injection medication hadn’t gone through all the quality tests that are required. That incident prompted Lee to order an independent review of that case and of the policy manual used in executions and relevant staffing issues at the Department of Corrections. Former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and Butler Snow attorney Edward Stanton III has been tapped to conduct the review. “The death penalty is an extremely serious matter,” Lee said. “I expect the Tennessee Department of Correction to leave no question that procedures are correctly followed.”

The TBA Immigration Law Section will host an Immigration Law Basics program on May 23 from 9 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. CDT. Attendees will receive helpful tips on immigration court practice and explore the basics of family, naturalization and U visa practice with regional experts. The program will also feature a session on business and entertainment aspects of immigration law in Tennessee. Earn up to two general and one dual CLE hours. Learn more and register here.

A new program from Bass, Berry & Sims, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors and the Vanderbilt Immigration Practice Clinic will address how lawyers can help newly arriving refugee populations who are resettling in Nashville. “Ukraine, Afghanistan, Haiti: Refugees in Crisis & How Lawyers Can Help” will take place in-person and virtually on May 23 from noon until 1 p.m. CDT. The presentation will provide an overview of at-risk populations and the basics of immigration and asylum law needed to take on a case with no prior immigration or asylum experience required. At the end of training, options will be provided to match with a family or individual who has been screened for asylum eligibility and is waiting for representation. Register for this free event by May 21.

Community organizer and Equity Alliance founder Charlane Oliver announced her candidacy this week to represent Nashville’s District 19 in the state Senate, Main Street Nashville reports. Oliver co-founded the Equity Alliance in 2017 as a nonprofit advocacy organization aimed at building independent Black political and economic power. Sen. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, who has held the seat for 17 years, is retiring this year. Former Metro Councilmember Jerry Maynard also is in the running for the seat. Nashville advocate and former public defender Keeda Haynes had previously filed a petition for the seat but has since withdrawn.

In celebration of Law Day 2022, the American Bar Association today unveiled results from its Fourth Annual ABA Survey of Civic Literacy. The survey measures the American public’s civics knowledge as well as their views on a range of topical issues. This year’s results include public opinion on proposed changes to voting requirements, why people say they vote and whether they think their vote makes a difference. The survey was released during a program today featuring NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Janai S. Nelson, former chair of ABA Section of Civil Rights & Social Justice Wendy K. Mariner, and Phillip J. Strach, a litigator in redistricting cases.

Matt Stowe, district attorney general for the 24th Judicial District and currently running for reelection, fired Assistant District Attorney and Henry County Chief Prosecutor Rebecca Griffey on Wednesday, The Courier reports. Stowe told the paper that the action “had been coming for awhile” because Griffey was not “on board” with his vision for the long run. “We just couldn’t work together any longer,” Stowe said. He also said he had heard complaints about Griffey from victims and coworkers. Pushing back on suggestions that the firing was political, Stowe said, “Who in the world would fire someone like this right before, in the middle of really, an election? If it was politically motivated I would have done it long before or long after.”

Nashville-based Sims Funk, a boutique litigation firm with a focus on commercial litigation, is seeking a litigation associate. Candidates should have one to four years of work as a litigation associate. Send resume, cover letter and transcript to careers@simsfunk.com. See this and other job opportunities on the TBA’s Job Link portal.