Williamson County lawyer Jason Scott Mangrum was censured today for violations of Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.16 and 3.2. Mangrum agreed to represent a client in pursuing two collection matters. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that he failed to (1) take proper action and expedite litigation in the cases, (2) respond to inquiries from his client, (3) keep his client updated on the status of her cases, and (4) turn over the client file to successor counsel for more than one month.

Several new state laws will go into effect on Jan. 1. WBIR has a list of some of the key changes, including new requirements for guardians and conservators, authority for counties to operate transition centers designed to reduce recidivism, funding for counties that implement programming to reduce inmates’ recidivism rates, extension of filing deadlines for compensation from the criminal injuries compensation fund, changes to trusts, and permission for student athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image or likeness.

The Tennessee Republican Party has decided to drop judges and judicial candidates from a new rule that requires a fee to run in primary elections because of a recent ethics opinion, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The Judicial Ethics Committee issued an opinion on Sept. 7 that "generally prohibits a judge from paying an assessment to a political organization." The Republican State Executive Committee discussed the issue at length during its Dec. 4 meeting and subsequently voted this week to remove judges from the rule, which would have required judicial candidates to pay $500 to run as Republicans. Yahoo News has the story.

The Florida Supreme Court yesterday reaffirmed a decision that bans Florida lawyers from receiving continuing legal education credit for programs that require diversity among panelists, the ABA Journal reports. That includes CLE programs offered by the American Bar Association, which the court said imposes quotas. The court first ruled on the issue in April after a Florida Bar section adopted a speaker panel policy that was modeled on the ABA’s 2017 diversity policy. ABA President Reginald Turner said after the ruling that that group was disappointed in the decision, believing that its CLE practices do not constitute a quota system.

Tennessee prison officials this week agreed to ease restrictions on Alex Friedmann, a prison reform advocate, who is in pre-trial custody at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for breaking into a Nashville jail that was under construction. Friedmann was originally placed in solitary confinement in a special cell and confined to the cell for 23 to 24 hours a day. After Friedmann won a court order last month to move him out of solitary, officials transferred him into a different cell but kept him confined for up to 23 hours a day. On Dec. 10, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw held prison officials in contempt for not complying with the previous order. This week, prison officials agreed to find work for Friedmann that will allow him to be out of his cell for four to six hours each weekday, allow visitors other than his wife and allow him to purchase commissary items, the AP reports.

Sullivan Country issued $80 million in bond debt 15 months ago to fund expansion of the long overcrowded county jail. But that amount will not be enough to cover expenses based on three bids the county recently received for the work, the Times News reports. The bids, ranging in price from $95.9 million to $98.9 million, note that an increase in building material costs have caused the price jump from the previous estimate. The county commission will consider the bids at a meeting next week. The current jail has been under scrutiny by the Tennessee Corrections Institute since 2014, when the jail nearly lost its certification due to overcrowding and other deficiencies found during an inspection. The jail has retained its certification under “plan of action” status, which means county officials are able to show progress toward solving the problem.

A federal judge in New York has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement over a provision that would protect members of the Sackler family from litigation, NPR reports. Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that bankruptcy law does not give judges the authority to grant that kind of protection for people who are not declaring bankruptcy themselves. The company sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 in the face of thousands of lawsuits claiming the it pushed doctors to prescribe OxyContin, helping spark an opioid crisis that has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths over the last two decades. In exchange for the liability shield, the Sackler family agreed to give up ownership of the company.

The U.S. Justice Department has broken off negotiations to pay monetary damages to families who were separated at the border during the Trump administration, National Public Radio reports. The negotiations, which began in the early months of the Biden administration, were aimed at settling more than 100 claims brought by migrant families in cases where minor children were separated from their parents. Department officials did not explain why they were ending the talks, only saying the parties were unable to reach a settlement. The Biden administration, however, does continue to work to reunite families that were separated under the previous policy.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold a phone clinic next Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m. CST to provide general advice. The first 15 callers will be accepted. To volunteer contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all December clinics.

Earn one hour of dual credit before the end of the year with a webcast replay featuring Board of Professional Responsibility's Eileen Burkhalter Smith reviewing the most recent ethics updates. “Ethics Update: Current Developments from the Board of Professional Responsibility” will air next Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. CST. Sign up now!