The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Knox County lawyer Mark Steven Graham to the practice of law effective immediately today. Graham had been suspended for three years, retroactive to the date of a temporary suspension imposed on March 11, 2020. For that suspension he had to serve one active year and the rest on probation. Graham recently filed a petition seeking reinstatement and a hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility found that Graham had complied with the conditions of his suspension. As conditions of his reinstatement, Graham must engage a practice monitor for the remainder of his probation and remain in substantial compliance with Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) contract.

Davidson County lawyer Michael Lloyd Freeman was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court today. The court found that Freeman failed to reasonably respond to his client’s request for information about the status of his criminal case and failed to diligently represent his client over a period of approximately two years. Freeman signed a conditional guilty plea admitting his conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 and 1.4.

Knox County lawyer Daniel Clyde Fielden II was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court today. The court found that while handling a divorce action, Fielden failed to (1) represent the client in a diligent manner, (2) expedite the hearing, (3) respond to the client’s termination of representation, and (4) communicate with the client. These actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.16, 3.2 and 8.4(d).

Roane County lawyer Melanie A. Campbell-Brown was suspended from the practice of law today. She will spend 60 days on active suspension and the rest on probation so long as she does not incur new complaints of misconduct during the probationary period. One complaint was filed against Campbell-Brown on Nov. 12, 2020. At the time, she entered a conditional guilty plea admitting she accepted a fee to represent her client in a quiet title action but mislead her client regarding the filing the complaint. Specifically, she failed to (1) file the claim, (2) provide legal services in a diligent manner, (3) expedite her client’s litigation, and (4) reasonably communicate with her client regarding the status of the case. Her actions were determined to violate of Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) 1.3, 1.4, and 8.4(a), (c) and (d).

The Tennessee Bar Association is now accepting applications from candidates interested in becoming the next editor of the award-winning Tennessee Bar Journal. The editor of the Tennessee Bar Journal facilitates review of submitted articles, directs layout and design, researches and writes articles and proofreads copy. In addition to the six-times-a-year Journal, the editor is also responsible for helping produce other TBA media products, including the TBJ Select e-newsletter, content for the TBA website and TBA-related social media accounts. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume and writing samples by email to TBA Assistant Executive Director Barry Kolar. Access a full job description here.

Tennessee Republicans plan to divide Nashville into multiple congressional districts, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, has told the Associated Press. The splitting of the district would likely mean that Republicans would control eight of Tennessee’s nine congressional districts, leaving one Democratic-leaning seat in Memphis. Longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, has spent the past several months urging the state legislature not to split his district. The other member who may be opposed to the plan is U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, who has said he could lose some of the wealthy, strongly Republican parts of his district. The Nashville Post has the story.

Five former students filed suit in federal court yesterday alleging that top colleges, including Vanderbilt University, have engaged in price fixing and unfairly limiting aid. The Nashville Post reports that the other schools are Brown, the California Institute of Technology, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University of Chicago, Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Rice and Yale.

A status hearing before federal district court judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. was held today in the case of parents suing the state to allow mask mandates in schools, Actions News 5 reports. Crenshaw previously granted a preliminary injunction of the state law, which bans mask mandates by school districts unless virus caseloads reach certain levels. In related news, Gov. Bill Lee today filed an appeal of Crenshaw’s ruling with the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. In December, Lee filed a motion for a stay of the injunction.

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in two cases challenging COVID-19 vaccination mandates. For over two hours of debate, the justices appeared skeptical of the administration’s attempt to impose a vaccine-or-test mandate for workers at large employers, Amy Howe writes for SCOTUSBlog. In the second case, which lasted for roughly an hour and a half, the justices seemed more receptive to efforts to impose a vaccine mandate for health care workers at facilities that receive federal funding. Both cases came to the court last month on an emergency basis and, in an unusual move, the justices opted to fast-track oral arguments on the question of whether the mandates can remain in place while challenges to their legality continue in the lower courts. Beyond the subject matter in question, COVID-19 “loomed over the courtroom” as two lawyers arguing against the mandates appeared by phone because they had recently tested positive for the virus.

Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston recently was honored by the Tennessee chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) at its annual Night of Remembrance and Awards Ceremony. Pinkston received the group’s 2021 East Tennessee Excellence Award, Chattanoogan.com reports. Pinkston said he was humbled and honored to receive the award, which he said would not have been possible without the assistance of the Chattanooga Police Department and its Traffic Unit. Given that, Pinkston said he would dedicate the award to the department and the traffic unit in memory of officer Nicholas Galinger, who was killed in 2021 by an intoxicated driver.