The American Bar Association will award the 2023 ABA Medal to Fred D. Gray, who was described by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “the chief counsel” of the civil rights movement. Gray will accept the award at the ABA’s Annual Meeting in Denver in August. Gray played a crucial role in many of the movement’s key moments including representing Rosa Parks, serving as the chief legal strategist during the Montgomery bus boycott and representing marchers in Selma in 1965.

The Nashville office of Maynard Nexsen will relocate from Edgehill Village to the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, the Nashville Post reported today. The firm, which was formed when Birmingham-based Maynard Cooper & Gale merged with Nexsen Pruet of Columbia, South Carolina, is home to 17 attorneys in Nashville. It will lease about 7,600 square feet at Nashville Warehouse Co. starting in July. The address of the building is 1131 Fourth Ave. S., Nashville 37210.

Following the Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision striking down a $50 cap on TennCare reimbursements for emergency room non-emergency health conditions, the state agency says it is “considering next steps.” The cap, which has been in place for more than a decade, was originally set to help cut costs as the agency was facing a $100 million shortfall. At the time, the agency promised to go through a standard rule-making process to put the cap in place, but that never occurred, Tennessee Lookout reports. The court ruling now potentially opens up taxpayers to years of back claims from hospitals and doctors in the state.

The Nashville Bar Foundation recently honored its 2023 class of fellows at an evening event, which also included presentation of the David Rutherford Award. This year’s award was presented posthumously to Judge Philip E. Smith, who served as a circuit court judge in Nashville from 1990-1994. The award is given to a fellow who exemplifies the memory and ideals of David Rutherford, which include professionalism, charitable contributions in the legal field and in the community as a whole, and the spirit of collegiality among bench and bar. Read more in a press release from the group.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Alumni Chapter will honor five Memphis-area lawyers at its annual Pillars of Excellence event set for Aug. 26 at the Fed Ex Forum. Those receiving awards are: Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen; Robert L. Dinkelspiel, founding member of Dinkelspiel Rasmussen & Mink; Mike McLaren, shareholder at Black McLaren Jones Ryland & Griffee; David Wade, shareholder and director at Martin Tate Morrow & Marston; and Ruby R. Wharton, founder and partner with The Wharton Law Firm. U.S. District Court Judge Phipps McCalla with the Western District of Tennessee will receive the 2023 Friend of the Law School award. The event will start with a reception at 6 p.m. CDT followed by dinner, awards and an after party. Proceeds from the evening will support the law school and student scholarships.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined 22 other attorneys general in urging the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to advance artificial intelligence governance policies that prioritize robust transparency, reliable testing and assessment requirements, and allow for government oversight and enforcement for high-risk uses. Read more about the issue or read the letter.

A story in yesterday’s issue of TBA Today about two Jackson individuals prosecuted for bank fraud did not include details about the sentence for Benjamin Vargason. He was sentenced to time served and placed on supervised release for three years, with six months to be served in home confinement. Read the full press release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of Tennessee.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced today that 14 attorneys in the firm’s Nashville office have been recognized by the Tennessee Supreme Court as 2022 “Attorneys for Justice.” Since 2013, the court has recognized lawyers who work a minimum of 50 pro bono hours. Attorneys are acknowledged for their pro bono work and their dedication to the legal profession and service to the citizens of Tennessee. The goal of the recognition program is to increase statewide pro bono work to 50% participation. Among those recognized at Bradley are Marc Bussone, Tim Capria, Charles Elder, Madison Crooks Haynes, Claire Fox Hodge, Alexandra Lynn, Russell Morgan, Ocasha Musah, Edmund Sauer, Jeffrey Sheehan, Rachel Sodée, Richard Swor, David Taylor and Heather Wright.

Jennifer Azbill-Hall and Benjamin Vargason of Jackson were sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in a bank fraud scheme. United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the sentences today. Hall and Vargason were indicted in December 2019 in connection with a scheme to steal $820,000 from B&H Finance by opening fictitious accounts in the names of former B&H customers where Hall was employed.

The FedEx pilots' union voted Sunday to approve a new contract for its pilots, reported the Commercial Appeal. The next step in the process is a membership ratification ballot among union members, which will open July 5 and closes July 24. The contract calls for a 30% pay increase and a 30% increase to the pilots’ legacy pension. The pilots' union has been in negotiations with FedEx management since May 2021.