The Knox County General Sessions Division V (civil) has announced that effective Jan. 4, 2022, all business will be conducted in the third floor courtroom of the Old Knox County Courthouse, 300 Main Ave., Knoxville 37902. Attorneys and litigants should enter the courthouse through the main security portal and proceed upstairs to the courtroom.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has announced that 24th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Donald E. Parish will retire in August 2022. Parish was elected to the bench in 2006 after nearly 25 years in private practice and part-time service as municipal court judge in his hometown of Huntingdon. He earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and has been involved in a range of bar associations and legal groups over the years, including serving as president of the Carroll County Bar Association. As he prepares to leave office, Parish has recommendations for the court system and anyone interested in replacing him. Read more in this profile of his career. The 24th Judicial District Circuit Court serves Henry, Carroll, Benton, Decatur and Hardin counties.

Montgomery County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Sharon Massey Grimes has announced her candidacy for re-election, Clarksville Now reports. Massey Grimes has held the position since January, when she was appointed by the Montgomery County Commission to complete the unexpired term of her late husband, Judge Ray Grimes, who passed away from COVID in November 2020. She oversees adult and juvenile criminal and civil cases, juvenile truancy cases, orders of protection and the county Recovery Court. Massey Grimes earned her law degree from the Nashville School of Law. She was a practicing attorney for 23 years prior to being appointed judge.

Late Friday afternoon, a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reinstate the Biden administration's vaccine-or-test mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees, The Hill reports. In its ruling, the court said the administration was justified in imposing the mandate to protect workers, especially those who are unvaccinated, from “grave danger in the workplace.” The decision also dissolved a stay issued by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in November. Within hours, opponents of the mandate appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, SCOTUSBlog reports. To give businesses more time to respond, the administration said it would delay for up to six days any citations for failure to comply with the mandate. The original deadline was Jan. 4. 2022.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Mark Hayes as circuit court judge for the 29th Judicial District. He will immediately fill the seat of Russell Lee Moore, who retired on Dec. 1. Hayes formerly served as partner at Jenkins Dedmon Hayes Law Group LLP in Dyersburg and spent nearly 40 years in private practice. He earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. The district covers Lake and Dyer counties.

State Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, has been granted a yearlong delay for his federal campaign finance trial, the Tennessee Journal reports. Originally scheduled to begin next month, the trial was reset by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw to Jan. 23, 2023. The motion to delay the case was made by Kelsey’s legal team and was unopposed by the U.S. attorney’s office or co-defendant Josh Smith. Kelsey’s attorney Paul Bruno told the court that he is scheduled to go to trial in a quadruple homicide case in January and did not believe he had enough time to prepare for both trials. Kelsey faces charges of funneling campaign funds from his state account through other political action committees to the American Conservative Union, which then allegedly spent the funds on Kelsey’s unsuccessful bid for the 8th Congressional District in 2016. Kelsey has denied any wrongdoing.

The 875-lawyer litigation firm Quinn Emanuel announced today that it will allow all U.S. lawyers — including first year associates — to permanently work remotely. It also said it plans to recruit new hires from cities where it does not have an office. The move comes as many law firms struggle with return-to-office policies. Reuters looks at how the firm plans to implement the new policy.

The 33rd Annual Health Law Forum, offered in full on-demand, is here for a limited time! Recognized as one of the premier health law programs in the country, this year’s annual forum addressed key issues such as regulatory fraud and abuse, health care transactions and fraud, physician discipline, claims coding and billing, HIPAA, legislative updates, and lessons learned during COVID-19. The course package offers 15 hours of credit (12 general, three dual) and is available until Jan. 31. 2022.

The House Select Committee on Redistricting today voted to advance its own draft state map that would eliminate five House Democratic seats, the Tennessean reports. The proposal drew criticism from House Democrats, who argued Republicans reshaped the lines for political gain. Democrats released their redistricting plan yesterday. The committee also heard presentations on proposals submitted by the public, although most maps did not meet the House redistricting guidelines. Tennessee Lookout reports that a staff member for Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery was one of those submitting a plan, raising questions from some. Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, questioned whether the move was a conflict of interest since the attorney general’s office will have to defend the final maps if suits are filed. Slatery’s office said the staffer submitted the plan “on his own time and as a private citizen.” The committee is tentatively set to meet again the week of Jan. 10 to approve a new map for congressional seats.

Law schools are racing to confront and embrace new COVID-19 safety measures as coronavirus cases spike around the country, Reuters report. At least three law schools pushed final exams online this week after their universities announced campus closures tied to COVID-19. Cornell University shut down its Ithaca, New York, campus this week halfway through the law school’s nine-day finals period. New York University and George Washington University, each citing the fast spread of COVID-19, quickly followed. All three universities require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to be on campus, but each has reported a rise in the Omicron variant among their recorded cases.