President Donald Trump’s administration said Friday it is formally withdrawing a plan proposed by his predecessor that would have required airlines to pay passengers cash compensation when U.S. flight disruptions are caused by carriers. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) under then-President Joe Biden sought public comment on rules requiring airlines to compensate travelers for domestic delays of at least three hours. DOT signaled in September that it planned to abandon the proposal and said Friday the rules would create “unnecessary regulatory burdens,” Reuters reports. Last month, 18 senators urged the Trump administration to keep the plan, calling it a “common-sense proposal.” DOT said dropping the effort would “allow airlines to compete on the services and compensation they provide to passengers rather than imposing new minimum requirements.”

The 2025 class of the TBA Public Service Academy met last week at the Nashville office of Adams & Reese. Participants heard from a range of speakers on topics such as building a campaign team, fundraising, identifying a message, and what it‘s like to run, win and serve. The program was moderated by Berkley Schwarz, principal with Pier Strategies and a TBA lobbyist. Speakers included Franklin lawyer Sean Aiello, who serves on the Williamson County Commission; Brenda Gadd, who serves on the Metro Nashville Council; John Rowley, founder of Counterpoint Messaging; Ward Baker, founder and president of Baker Group Strategies; Kim Kaegi, founder and principal with Kaegi Resources; and Nadira Freeman with Axis Strategies. The academy is a nonpartisan training program that provides attorneys with the tools to run for local public offices, such as school board, city council and county commission. See photos from the program.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has announced that the state joined a multistate settlement with Greystar Management Services, the nation’s largest property management company, over allegations that it participated in an algorithmic pricing scheme that artificially increased rents. According to a release, a bipartisan coalition of states investigated Greystar for sharing sensitive rental supply and pricing data with competitors through RealPage revenue management software, which officials say inflated prices and reduced competition in the multi-family housing market. Greystar, which manages nearly 950,000 units nationwide and more than 6,000 in Tennessee, reached a non-monetary settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in August. Under a proposed consent decree, the company would stop using anticompetitive pricing algorithms, stop sharing competitively sensitive information, avoid RealPage-hosted meetings of competing landlords, accept a court-appointed monitor under certain conditions, and cooperate with states’ ongoing claims against RealPage.

Large and midsized U.S. law firms enjoyed a “sharp spike” in client demand during the third quarter, setting the stage for a profitable 2025, according to a new analysis of firm financial data from the Thomson Reuters Institute. The institute also found that overall demand was up 3.9% from the third quarter of 2024 — the fourth-highest quarterly increase of the past 20 years and the highest outside of 2021’s rapid post-pandemic rebound. Read more about the latest finding in the institute’s Law Firm Financial Index from Reuters.

The Memphis Bar Association (MBA) has announced two of the 2025 recipients of its awards. Natalie Bursi with Lewis Thomason will receive the Sam A. Myar Jr. Memorial Award, which honors an attorney under 40 years old who has shown dedication and commitment to their practice and the legal community. In addition, Shea Wellford with Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston will receive the Judge Jerome Turner Lawyer’s Lawyer Award, which recognizes a Memphis attorney who has practiced law for more than 15 years and embodies professionalism, civility and courtesy. The awards will be presented at the association’s annual meeting on Dec. 4 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. CST. Tickets for the event are available online.

TaxProf Blog, a leading source for news and commentary on tax law for more than 20 years, has found a new home and is being hosted exclusively by The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), National Jurist reports. Paul Caron, dean and professor at Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law, founded the blog in 2004, but it was shut down in September due to the closure of the Typepad platform, which hosted it. AALS says the blog has been a cornerstone for law school deans, law professors and tax lawyers for decades and it is honored to bring it back and build on its legacy. AALS will maintain the blog’s archives and host new content and personal reflections from Caron and a team of editors.

Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal has ordered the National Guard to withdraw from Memphis, saying the governor exceeded his authority to deploy the guard. "The governor may only call the militia into service in cases of rebellion or invasion and only with the General Assembly's declaration that the public safety requires it," Moskal wrote. She also rejected the Tennessee Attorney General's (AG) argument that the governor’s decision to deploy the guard is protected from judicial review. According to the Commercial Appeal, the ruling does not impact other aspects of the Memphis Safe Task Force. The temporary injunction will not take effect until after the deadline for the AG to appeal has expired, which will happen five days after the plaintiffs file the required bond. The Daily Memphian reports that the state intends to appeal the decision. The ruling comes as the state was preparing the double the number of guard troops in Memphis, the paper reports in a separate article. In related news, the Tennessee Journal reports that Republican members of the state House are considering ways to void the court’s decision.

The American Bar Association (ABA) will undertake a review of its standards for law schools as states weigh dropping the organization as an accreditor and critics blame its regulations for driving up student costs. The Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar announced the review during a meeting last week, Reuters reports. The council said the review would align accreditation standards with a set of core principles and values adopted in August. The effort is expected to take a year or more. Also at the meeting, the council’s Standards Review Committee proposed eliminating the diversity and inclusion standard, which was suspended in February. The council did not advance the proposal but sent it back to the committee for further review. In Tennessee, the state Supreme Court is seeking comments on a range of proposals affecting regulation of the profession, including law school accreditation. TBA has formed a task force to solicit feedback and advise the TBA Board of Governors on the issue.

The city of Nashville has agreed to repay $1.4 million in improper water and sewer fees after losing a lawsuit over charges that homeowners said should have been covered by the city, Fox 17 reports. The Beacon Center of Tennessee filed the class-action suit on behalf of hundreds of homeowners, including Nashville resident Peyton Pratt, who was billed $6,000 in “sewage upgrade” fees when rebuilding his home in The Nations neighborhood. Metro Nashville agreed to settle the case and issue refunds rather than contest the lawsuit in court. Beacon attorneys called the decision wise, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled governments cannot force individuals to pay for public infrastructure. Metro’s legal department denied wrongdoing.

Franklin-based law firm Thompson Burton has acquired Brentwood-based Meridian Law, the Nashville Post reports. Details of the deal were not disclosed, but Thompson Burton Managing Partner Walt Burton said the addition of Meridian’s six legal professionals, including founder Thomas Shumate, will expand the firm’s litigation capacity across multiple practice areas. Joining the firm along with Shumate are Meridian associate attorneys Colton Adams, Katelyn Barham and Ethan Eggleston, litigation practice manager and paralegal Mikayla Joyner, and litigation paralegal Sydney Simmons. Thompson Burton partner J.K. Simms worked with Shumate to bring the Meridian team on board. “If I would have created a wish list of attorneys I would like to see join Thompson Burton, Tom would have always been at the top of that list,” Simms said.