Williamson County lawyer Tiffany Marcilynne Johns was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday. The court found that Johns, while representing a client in an uncontested divorce, failed to send a draft marital dissolution agreement to the spouse for five months. After the agreement was executed, Johns appeared in court to enter the final decree, but she did not provide the court with the original decree. The final decree of divorce was not entered until June 2023. The court found that Johns failed to respond to requests for information from her client and determined that she violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 and 1.4.

Washington, D.C., lawyer Jay Arthur Rosenberg was permanently disbarred from practicing law in Tennessee today. The Supreme Court of Tennessee took the action based on an order of disbarment from the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on April 20. On June 8, the Tennessee court asked Rosenberg to respond as to why disbarment should not be imposed. The court reports that Rosenberg did not file a response with the court as ordered.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a bipartisan coalition of 34 attorneys general in sending a letter to congressional leaders expressing support for legislative proposals included in the Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding (G.U.A.R.D.) Veterans Affairs Benefits Act. The legislation would hold unaccredited and unregulated actors accountable for preying upon veterans who apply for federal VA benefits.

Edgar "Buddy" R. Bowers of Harriman died March 17 at the age of 85. Bowers graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1966. While in law school, he served in the U.S. Army and the Georgia National Guard. After several years of private practice in Roane County, Bowers joined Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation as vice president and general counsel. He served in that role until he retired in 1999. Bowers was active in his community, serving on the Tennessee Historical Commission, Harriman Board of Education and Tennessee Board of Regents. He was chair of the Roane County Republican Party and served on the Tennessee State Republican Executive Committee. Memorial gifts may be made to West Hills Presbyterian Church, 506 West Hills Dr., Harriman, TN 37748; South Harriman Alumni and Friends, 111 Pine Ridge Rd., Harriman, TN 37748; Trenton Street Baptist Church, 519 Trenton St., Harriman, TN 37748; or the charity of the donor’s choice.

Seven in 10 Black women lawyers have experienced discrimination or bias in the workplace, or personally witnessed it, according to a new survey. Additionally, 47% of the lawyers who participated in the first-ever State of Black Women in the Law 2023 DEIB Assessment Report “feel the burden” of having to educate people on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. And while the majority of Black women lawyers surveyed said their workplace is committed to improving diversity, 66% said they would not stay at their organization for two more years because of a lower-than-average “sense of belonging.” Read more from survey creators Kanarys Inc., the National Bar Institute and the the Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association.

The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals yesterday rejected Starbucks' challenge to a ruling requiring the coffee chain to rehire seven employees at a Memphis store who allegedly were fired for supporting a union, Reuters reports. The court said that by firing the workers, Starbucks likely discouraged other employees from exercising their rights under U.S. labor law. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the court is the first appellate decision involving a nationwide campaign that has seen workers at more than 300 Starbucks locations vote to unionize.

The TBA Adoption Law Section will hold its annual forum on Sept. 25 at the Tennessee Bankers Association's Barrett Training Center in Nashville. This year's program will run from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. CDT and focus on adoption-related legislation considered during this year's General Assembly session. Make plans now to join colleagues.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has launched a task force aimed at bolstering public trust in elections. The effort will be headed by former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, now a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and former U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals judge J. Michael Luttig. Other task force members include former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, former NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill, conservative commentator Bill Kristol, and the deans of the Yale and Stanford law schools. The 31-member ABA Task Force for American Democracy will look at ways to depoliticize how elections are administered, educate the public on democracy, and try to foster election innovations that address the causes of politicization.

Former state Sen. Brenda Gilmore has joined with a group of Tennessee voters in a lawsuit over Tennessee's newly drawn congressional maps, the Tennessean reports. The group alleges that last year’s redistricting intentionally discriminates against Black voters and dilutes the voting power of communities of color. The lawsuit, filed today in federal court, focuses on efforts to divide Davidson County into three districts and split state Senate District 31 in Shelby County. Organizations supporting the suit include The League of Women Voters of Tennessee, Equity Alliance, African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee and Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who is senior counsel at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., is calling on Tennessee Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton to fully reinstate" Jones to all rights, duties and privileges of his office before the special session begins. That would include reinstating Jones to his committee assignments, the Times Free Press reports. Last Thursday, Nashville voters returned Jones to his seat after he was expelled for joining in pro-gun control protests inside the House chamber in the days following a shooting at The Covenant School.