Shelby County Commissioner Mick Wright on Thursday sent a 20-page “letter of formal complaint” against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert to Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp, the special prosecutor investigating Halbert’s handling of her duties. Wright says his case “reveals a clear pattern of intentional negligence.” The Daily Memphian reports that the complaint breaks down his reasoning for ousting Halbert into three sections: the abrupt closing of the clerk’s office in Germantown in 2020 and the Poplar Plaza shopping center earlier this year, as well as the expiration of leases in other locations; the backlog of car tags and vehicle registration renewals in 2022 that Wright describes as an “operational collapse;” and Halbert’s persistent complaints since taking office in 2018 that her office isn’t getting the funding it is entitled to from the county administration and can’t hire enough employees or get the proper equipment.

A story in Thursday’s TBA Today incorrectly noted the date of King Madison Hollands’ death. Hollands died on Dec. 20. Additionally, the photograph of Hollands was taken by John Partipilo for the Tennessee Lookout.

The County Officials Association of Tennessee has named Hamilton County Juvenile Court Clerk Gary Behler its 2023 State Court Clerk of the Year, reports the Hamilton County Herald. Behler has served as the juvenile court clerk in Hamilton County since his 2010 election. In 2018, the County Technical Assistance Service recognized Behler’s office as the first fully electronic state court clerk’s office in Tennessee. In addition, the court’s electronic filing system, implemented in 2022, was one of the first to serve juvenile courts in Tennessee. Behler is a certified public administrator as well as a certified county financial officer and he has served as an adjunct professor of criminal justice at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for 33 years.

Scrambling to get those last-minute CLE hours in before the Dec. 31 deadline? The TBA is here to help! Check out TBA Year-End CLE to choose from a quality mix of CLE packages ranging from six hours to 15 hours of credit on a variety of topic areas. Or, shop our online CLE products at cle.tba.org where you can access more than 30 practice areas and 200 on-demand programs, and watch them on your laptop or mobile device at your convenience. Don’t forget to use the prepaid credits that come with your TBA Complete Membership and save on your CLE costs. Not a member? Join now to start saving.

The TBA has got you covered for all your last-minute end-of-the-year CLE requirements. TBA's substantive law forums are now available as 1-Click packages. And our year-end course catalog offers webcasts on over 200 topics including business law, construction law, creditors practice, disability, dispute resolution, estate planning, immigration, IP, litigation, real estate, tort and insurance and more. You can also choose packages by hours-required. Celebrate the new year early. Visit cle.tba.org and sign up to complete your requirements by Dec. 31!

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law will host "The New Voices in Criminal Law," a symposium presented by Professor Stephen Galoob, the law school’s visiting Herff Chair of Excellence, on April 19, 2024. The symposium will present cutting-edge research regarding criminal law and the criminal legal system. Panels will feature scholars presenting emerging research along with commentary by some of the leading criminal legal scholars in the world. Read the announcement for the full list of presenters and commentators.

Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Duncan School of Law Vice President and Dean Matt Lyon announced the promotion of Hesper Capps to director of student services earlier this month. Capps first joined LMU in 2014 with the Paul V. Hamilton School of Arts, Humanity and Social Sciences and later joined the staff of Duncan Law School in 2017. In her new position, Capps will provide support to students in all facets of their law school experience. “Hesper’s counseling background and years of experience … make her the perfect choice for this new position,” said Lyon. Read the full announcement.

New York's law firms have often been bellwethers for the U.S. legal industry, setting expectations in areas such as salaries and sometimes bearing the brunt of downturns. Reuters reports on several year-end trends including the rise in law firm mergers (41 in 2023), the move away from single-tier partnerships and the closing of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, founded in 1876.

Civil rights activist King Madison Hollands, a leader in the 1960s Nashville Student Movement to racially integrate the region, died Dec. 20, reports the Tennessee Lookout. Hollands was 82. Hollands was among the first 14 Black students to attend Father Ryan High School in 1954 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education declared racial segregation in schools unconstitutional. Hollands' later campaigned for improvements to the Edgehill neighborhood where he grew up and worked to preserve African American history in Nashville. Memorial service information has not yet been announced.

A new court filing in one of two federal lawsuits against accused Tennessee rapist and escaped inmate Sean Williams claims officers with the Johnson City Police Department took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from Williams while refusing to take meaningful steps to "stop his sexually predatory behavior," reports News Channel 9. The lawsuit also claims officers engaged in a pattern of discriminatory conduct toward women who reported the alleged crimes. Williams is facing multiple state and federal charges related to alleged drug trafficking and sex crimes against woman and children.