Louis H. Pollak, a federal judge who as a young lawyer helped work on the pivotal school-desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education, and later served as dean of two Ivy League law schools, died Tuesday at 89. Read more about him from the AP

Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, who helped shape the political history of the 1960s -- facing down segregationists, shepherding historic civil rights legislation and helping to map Vietnam War strategy, died Tuesday at age 90. Katzenbach advised President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis and negotiated the release of Cuban prisoners captured during the Bay of Pigs invasion. He was Robert F. Kennedy’s second-in-charge at the Justice Department and took on F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover over the wiretapping of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Perhaps his most public moment came when he confronted then-Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace on the steps of the University of Alabama over the governor’s resistance to desegregation. Flanked by a federal marshal and a U.S. attorney, Katzenbach read a presidential proclamation ordering that two African American students be admitted to the school. He later escorted the students to register for classes. The New York Times looks at his life

Judge James Browning of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals died Saturday (May 5) at the age of 93. Browning, reportedly the nation's longest serving federal appeals judge, was appointed to the court in 1961 by President John Kennedy. He served as chief judge from 1976 to 1988 and took senior status in 2000. Browning once said his greatest contribution was helping persuade Congress not to split the appeals court. University of Pittsburgh law professor Arthur Hellman called Browning "the architect of the modern 9th Circuit" saying he created innovations in case management, persuaded judges to work together despite differing views, and helped create the disciplinary system for federal judges. The ABA Journal has links to several stories

Nancy Kay Kenley, 54, of Memphis died yesterday (April 26) after a long battle with ovarian cancer. She was Senior Counsel for Legal Regulatory Affairs at Federal Express and a 1990 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law. Visitation is today from 5 to 8 p.m. at Memorial Park Funeral Home on Poplar Avenue in Memphis. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at White Station Church of Christ. Donations may be made to the Nancy K. Kenley Hope Fund at Independent Bank Memphis. Read her obituary

Knoxville lawyer Jay Arthur Garrison died Tuesday (April 24) at the age of 63. He graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1975 and practiced law for 35 years with the firms of Cheek, Taylor & Groover; Kennerly, Montgomery & Finley; and Holifield & Associates. A celebration of life will be held at Fountain City United Methodist Church on Monday at 7 p.m. Family will receive friends at the church from 5 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Fountain City United Methodist Church, 212 Hotel Avenue, Knoxville 37918; or the Garrison Family Endowed Band Scholarship, 120 Perkins Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996. Read his full obituary

Memphis attorney Hunter Lane Jr., a pivotal figure in the city’s political history, died Sunday after a lengthy illness. He was 82. Mr. Lane was elected Commissioner of Public Service in 1963 and was one of the leaders of a reform movement that led to a charter commission and the establishment in 1967 of the current mayor-council form of government, the Memphis Flyer reports. He also later served on the Memphis School Board.

Nashville attorney Robert Lee Whitaker died suddenly Friday, April 20, the Nashville Post reports. He was 55. Visitation at the Williamson Funeral Home at 3009 Columbia Ave. in Franklin is scheduled for Tuesday (April 24) from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. with the funeral to follow. Learn more from the funeral home.

Retired General Sessions Court Judge Starlan Richard Holcomb Jr. died Sunday, April 22. He was 76. A member of the state legislature from 1967-1973, Judge Holcomb was a graduate of the University of Chattanooga and earned his law degree at the University of Cincinnati. The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Heritage Funeral Home, East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga. Services will be at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, at Heritage Funeral Home Chapel. Interment will follow at Chattanooga National Cemetery with full military honors. Honorary pallbearers will be current and retired members of the local judiciary. Read his obituary from Heritage Funeral Home and more about him in the Chattanoogan.

Services for former First Judicial District Attorney General Joe Crumley will be held Saturday at 4 p.m. at Dillow-Taylor Funeral Home in Jonesborough. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 2 to 4 p.m. Cremation will follow the service. Memorial donations may be made to Washington County/Johnson City Animal Shelter, 525 Sells Ave., Johnson City 37604. Crumley died April 9. Read more from his obituary

Jeffrey L. Davidson, 41, of Rutledge died April 3. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Davidson opened a private law practice in Rutledge in 1996. A fund to help defray college costs for his five children has been established at the Citizens Bank and Trust in Rutledge. To contribute, mail donations to Davidson College Fund, Attn: Melissa Roberts, c/o Citizens Bank and Trust Co. of Grainger County, P.O. Box. 98, Rutledge 37861. Read Davidson’s obituary