The Tennessee Supreme Court in December amended Rule 8, RPC 7.6 and deleted Rule 44 regarding intermediary organizations. In April, the Knoxville Bar Association requested the court clarify that neither the amendment nor the deletion alters Rule 8, RPC 5.4(a)(6), which allows an attorney to pay a non-profit intermediary organization “a referral fee calculated by reference to a reasonable percentage of the fee paid to the lawyer by the client referred to the lawyer by the intermediary organization.” The court granted the KBA’s request and today issued another amendment to the rules. Read the order.

Nashville firefighter Joshua Lipscomb has been suspended from his job without pay one month after he sued the department for violating his freedom of speech, WPLN reports.  Lipscomb, a comedian, is better known for his stage name and Twitter handle Josh Black. He was suspended last month for tweeting that Metro’s use of new license plate readers would lead to over-policing of Black and brown communities and referring to members of Metro Council as “white supremacists.” Lipscomb’s lawsuit says the department’s internal policies are “vague and overbroad” and that the three-person disciplinary panel receives no training or supervision. He was again suspended last week for taking sick leave without a doctor’s note and filed an amended complaint calling the latest suspension retaliation for his lawsuit. He is seeking compensation for nearly a month of lost pay and a declaration that these policies are unconstitutional.

Melydia Clewell, wife of Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston, has resigned her position as chief of staff in the DA’s office, Chattanooga’s News Channel 9 reports. Clewell had recently been placed on administrative leave from the office following a report from the Tennessee Comptroller that Pinkston had violated the state’s nepotism policy by employing Clewell and her brother, Kerry Clewell. According to the Chattanoogan, Clewell has accepted a research position with a Hollywood production company. An email between two county officials late last month reveals Kerry Clewell is set to be terminated on May 17. Pinkston lost his bid for reelection to Coty Wamp during the county’s Republican primary.

The TBA’s BarBuzz podcast recently released its May episode, featuring special co-host Tasha Blakney of the Knoxville law firm Eldridge & Blakney. Currently serving as TBA president-elect, Blakney details plans for her upcoming year as president and what she hopes to accomplish. Tune in for that discussion and stick around to hear Blakney deliver the latest legal news and bar association events and updates. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.  

The Tennessee Department of Health has appointed attorney Elizabeth Foy as its assistant commissioner for legislative affairs, the Williamson Source reports. In that role, Foy will help develop the department’s annual legislative package and work with key members of the Tennessee General Assembly to ensure the passage of key initiatives. Foy worked in civil private practice and as an assistant district attorney for the 20th Judicial District before joining the Department of Health as a legislative liaison. Foy is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and a member of the TBA Leadership Law Class of 2017.

Life insurance executive Weldon Wilson and his wife Elaine are giving another $17.5 million to Vanderbilt Law School to add to their scholarship fund. The Wilsons created the fund in 2011 to honor the 25th anniversary of Weldon’s 1986 graduation from the law school. The new gift honors his 35th reunion, the school reports. The scholarship fund is designed to help recruit graduates of public colleges to the law school. Wilson earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and says he wants to give other public school graduates an opportunity for a Vanderbilt education. He is vice-chair of life insurance group agency Resolution Life Group Holdings and is licensed as an attorney in Texas.

The Tennessee General Assembly recently honored TBA member and health care executive Kennard Brown for his work to improve the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and the health and well-being of Tennesseeans, Memphis Medical News reports. The resolution honoring Brown — who is executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer of the center — cites his professionalism, ability and integrity and leadership in the operation of UTHSC's Memphis campus; support for international academic and research partnerships; and administration of the Plough Center for Sterile Drug Delivery Solutions and the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center. Kennard earned his law degree and master in public administration from the University of Memphis.

President Joe Biden today announced a slate of bipartisan nominees to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Bloomberg Law reports. If approved, they would give the panel its first quorum since 2019. The president also nominated U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the Southern District of Mississippi to chair the commission. If confirmed, he would be the first Black chair in the commission’s history. Others nominated were: U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom of Kentucky; former assistant federal public defender Laura Mate, now working for the federal public defender in Arizona; former judge and now New York-based Debevoise and Plimpton partner John Gleeson; former principal deputy associate attorney general Claire McCusker Murray; Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Luis Felipe Restrepo; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Candice Wong of Washington. Read more about the nominees in a release from the White House.

The Center for Professional Education – the workforce development arm of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga – is partnering with the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to offer a new online court reporting course, the Hamilton County Herald reports. According to Connie Turner, coordinator for court reporting services, there is a critical need for court reporters, especially in state criminal courts. “State law requires court reporters to be present during all criminal proceedings,” she says. Therefore, if no reporters are available, court proceedings are delayed. Upon completing the UTC course, graduates must pass exams administered by the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers and obtain a license.

A TBA Today story on Monday highlighted recent competition wins by Tennessee law schools but omitted the results of three teams from the University of Memphis School of Law that won first place in their respective competitions. Two teams participated in the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition, coming in first place in their regional competitions. The first team won the virtual Chicago region and went on to compete at the national competition. The second team was undefeated in its region, and won fourth place for the best brief and an individual award for seventh best advocate. In other news from the school, the Memphis Law Black Law Student Association Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition team took first place in the 2022 Southern Regional Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition.