The federal judiciary is taking “special measures” and “technical steps” to respond to a hack of the courts’ case management system, according to the Department of Justice. The remarks come after the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts announced the judiciary was strengthening protections “in response to recent escalated cyberattacks of a sophisticated and persistent nature on its case management system.” The ABA Journal has more on the developments. In related news, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, has asked U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to commission an independent review of the judiciary’s cybersecurity practices. Wyden noted that the recent breach marks the second time since 2020 the system had been hacked by foreign actors exploiting the same cyber vulnerabilities, Reuters reports.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently announced two judicial appointments and one district attorney appointment. Lee named Chris Frulla as the new circuit court judge and Raymond Lepone as the new criminal court judge in the 30th Judicial District, which covers Shelby County. Frulla currently serves as a partner at Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell. He will take the bench immediately to fill a vacancy created by the elevation of Judge Valerie Smith to the Court of Appeals. Lepone currently serves as an assistant attorney general in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. He will take the bench immediately to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Paula Skahan. Finally, Lee named Thomas Dean as new district attorney general for the 18th Judicial District, which serves Sumner County. He currently works as an assistant district attorney in the office and will take over when Ray Whitley retires on Sept. 1.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order on Aug. 27 referring Sevier County lawyer Aaron Michael Kimsey to the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) for whatever action it may deem warranted. The court took the action after Kimsey pled guilty to one count of driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days, with all but 48 hours to be served on supervised probation.

The Tennessee Supreme Court transferred the law license of Anderson County lawyer of Steven R. Seivers to disability inactive status on Aug. 27. Seivers may not practice law while on inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the court upon showing that his disability has been removed.

A story in the Aug. 20 issue of TBA Today highlighted a number of new hires at Tennessee law schools. A new professor at Belmont College of Law was omitted. Joe Sliskovich will be teaching courses in business associations, federal income tax and business and tax planning. Previously, Sliskovich was tenured at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Read more about him on the school’s website.

The next free advice clinic for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits is set for Sept. 18 in Nashville. The clinic, sponsored by the Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts and Bradley, provides assistance with business formation and corporate governance, review of contracts and guidance in navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Prospective clients should register by Sept. 15. Attorneys should email vlpa@abcnashville.org to volunteer.

A plan to require more hands-on training for law students was pulled just prior to consideration by the American Bar Association (ABA) Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. The proposal, which would double the number of required hands-on learning credits for American law students from six to 12 credits, had met with strong opposition, according to Reuters. Clinical legal professors and externship supervisors largely have backed the change, as have some attorneys and members of the public, saying it will help produce practice-ready attorneys. But many deans of ABA-accredited law schools said the change would be too costly.

When you’re busy, it’s difficult to think of a ringing phone as a prospective client rather than a mere interruption. The TBA's Law Firm in a Box offers a chart comparing services that not only answer phones but can help with client screening, intake and more. Access this and more resources in the Opening a Firm section.

Retired Rutherford County lawyer Allen D. Hale died Aug. 23 at age 73. A lifelong resident of the county, he worked as paramedic, police detective, assistant district attorney and private practice attorney. Visitation will be this Friday at 10:30 a.m. CDT at Jennings and Ayers Funeral Home, 820 S. Church St., Murfreesboro 37130. A service will follow at 12:30 p.m. Burial will be at Roselawn Memorial Gardens, 5350 NW Broad St., Murfreesboro 37129. Condolences for the family may be shared online at www.jenningsandayers.com.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Valerie Kloosterman sued her former hospital employer and several of its officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Title VII, and Michigan law. The hospital defendants repeatedly asked the district court to dismiss all of Kloosterman’s claims on the merits. But the court declined to dismiss several of them. Only at that point—after a year of litigation and after the defendants got a preview of how the merits might progress in court—did they seek to arbitrate. We conclude that this request came too late, primarily because the defendants sought to avoid arbitration altogether by asking for a complete judicial victory. Specifically, we hold that the defendants lost their right to arbitrate under the Federal Arbitration Act because their conduct put them “in default in proceeding with [their requested] arbitration.” 9 U.S.C. § 3. We thus reverse the district court’s decision to dismiss this suit in favor of arbitration.