The federal government is ordering TennCare to change its modified block grant program a year and a half after the Trump administration approved it, Tennessee Lookout reports. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has directed the state to end a closed formulary for pharmaceuticals that would have reduced coverage for expensive drugs and therapies. It also is asking the state to submit a new budget model based on the number of enrollees each month. Under the revisions, the state also will not be allowed to cut benefits or coverage in effect Dec. 31 without federal approval. Finally, the state is being encouraged to expand adult dental treatment, postpartum coverage and home and community-based care. Tenncare says it is reviewing the directive.

Circuit Court Judge Thomas W. Graham of the 12th Judicial District officially retired on June 30, but will remain on the bench until his successor takes over Sept. 1. Graham was elected to the court in 1990 and went on to serve four terms. Among the notable cases he heard was Tennessee's first DNA case and one of the first cases decided after the Tennessee Supreme Court adopted comparative fault. He also was the first and only judge to bring Court TV to a Tennessee courtroom. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on his career, which also included service in the TBA House of Delegates.

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has joined the Harvard Law School faculty, Bloomberg Law reports. Breyer, 83, will teach administrative law and continue to write books, according to a press release issued today. Breyer is a graduate of the school and taught there before taking the bench. He says he hopes to “explain why I believe it important that the next generations of those associated with the law engage in work, and take approaches to law, that help the great American constitutional experiment work effectively for the American people.” Read more from the school. The American Bar Association also reported today that Breyer will chair its Rule of Law Initiative Board beginning on Aug. 9. The 20-member board and five regional councils oversee rule of law programs around the world.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today reappointed seven members to the Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure. They are: Andrée Blumstein, Eugene “Gino” Bulso, Bo Burk, Michael Carter, Mark Fulks, Aaron Hall and Timothy Mickel. Their previous terms expired on June 30. They will now serve through June 30, 2025. The court also reappointed Bulso as chair and Clayton as vice chair of the commission. They will serve in those rules through June 30, 2023.

The Court Improvement Program will sponsor attendance at the Fall 2022 Red Book Training Series, presented by the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC). The virtual training series is being offered to parent attorneys, guardian ad litems, judicial officers, juvenile court staff and other individuals working in the state’s child welfare system. The seven-week training focuses on a broad array of topics in child welfare law and core dependency practice. Sessions will be held via Zoom on Thursdays at 4 p.m. CDT from Sept. 8 to Oct. 27. Learn more or apply to participate. Contact the program by email with any questions.

For the second year in a row, a law student from Belmont College of Law has won the 2022 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest. Frank Toub, who is entering his third year, won for his short story “Dope Fiend” — his first stab at fiction writing. The central theme of the story came from advice given to Toub’s wife, who works remotely for a Pennsylvania law firm: “If you can do something for another that means a lot to that person, but it costs you little, you should do it every time.” A criminal defendant in the story follows this advice when she helps her alcoholic lawyer. Toub said he wanted to explore addiction “through the lens of an attorney who could clearly see his client’s issues but not see the issues in himself.” Toub is a former project engineer and Army veteran who decided to go to law school on the GI Bill. After he graduates, he will join the law firm of Baker Donelson. The ABA Journal reports it will publish the story on its website the week of Thanksgiving.

The TBA’s BarBuzz podcast is celebrating three years of being on the air! Tune in to the first episode of Season 3 with special co-host David Aguilera, the policy and research advisor for the Tennessee Senate Minority Leader. Aguilera immigrated to the U.S. from Bolivia when he was 12 and realized a passion for advocacy while working construction in New York City to earn money for college. He recounts his 19-year-long journey to gaining U.S. citizenship and his path to becoming an attorney, plus your monthly dose of legal news and bar association events! BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and available wherever you listen to podcasts or on the TBA’s website!

Some bar exam test takers are scrambling to get older laptops after learning ExamSoft's Examplify software will not work on certain newer machines, Reuters reports. According to an email from the software company, laptops running Windows and using Intel’s newest chips are not compatible with the bar exam. Tennessee uses the Examplify software as part of its exam, however, Board of Law Examiners Executive Director Lisa Perlen says there have not been issues here. She said the board early on told applicants about the potential compatibility issue, and so far no one has encountered a problem. 

Twitter sued billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, asking Delaware’s Court of Chancery to order Musk to complete a $44 billion takeover deal, NPR reports. Musk entered into an agreement to buy Twitter in late April but has since launched a fight with the company over the prevalence of fake accounts, which he claims is higher than Twitter lets on. The lawsuit accuses Musk of hypocrisy and bad faith in breaching his contract with Twitter. It says that after Tesla shares declined in value Musk began to disparage the company and make public requests aimed at making Twitter appear negligent. Musk has 20 days to respond to the complaint, but lawyers for Twitter have proposed an expedited timetable, arguing a delay would hurt the company.

Attorney John Coke has been selected to serve as general counsel for the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Coke has been assistant general counsel since 2016 and transitioned into the new role on July 1. The AOC general counsel heads the legal service and judicial development team, oversees administrative functions and judicial conferences, and supports trial and appellate judges across the state. Before joining the AOC, Coke clerked for 20th Judicial District Judge Joe Binkley Jr. and for Judge Hamilton Gayden, also of the 20th Judicial District. He replaces former General Counsel Rachel Harmon who was promoted to deputy director earlier this year. Read more from the AOC.