A female wrestler at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood has filed a Title IX lawsuit against the Williamson County Board of Education, alleging that the girls' wrestling team was treated as an afterthought to the boys' team and was provided substandard support and opportunities as compared to the school’s other sports teams. Read more about the suit from the Nashville Banner.

Charlie Hatcher, who stepped down last month as Tennessee’s agriculture commissioner, is expected to announce this week that he will challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles in the Republican primary for the 5th Congressional District, The Tennessee Journal reports. A Williamson County veterinarian, Hatcher has served nearly seven years as the head of the Agriculture Department for Gov. Bill Lee. He previously worked for a decade as the state veterinarian.

A disciplinary item in yesterday’s issue of TBA Today omitted a link to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility’s press release announcing the revocation for probation for Davidson County lawyer Michael Lloyd Freeman. The document is now attached to the article. View it here.

Cris Helton, former Chattanooga attorney and East Ridge judge, was arrested in Panama City, Florida, on the felony count of making a written threat to kill or do bodily harm to his wife and her friend. Chattanoogan.com reports that on Sept. 28, Helton texted a death threat and a photo of a knife to his wife, Kimberly Helton. Helton is free on a $50,000 bond and is due back in court on Nov. 3. Helton was suspended from the practice of law in 2024 for five years after he failed to file required federal income tax returns for several years and willfully attempted to avoid his tax liabilities.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Bobbie Jo Denson complied with Tennessee’s health care liability pre-suit notice statute. Denson sent pre-suit notice and later filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of two minor grandchildren under Tennessee’s Health Care Liability Act after she gained legal custody of the children. In the pre-suit notice, Denson identified herself rather than her grandchildren as the claimants. Defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing Denson did not substantially comply with notice requirements because the minor children were not identified in the notice. The trial court found that Denson substantially complied with the requirements. A divided panel of the Court of Appeals reversed. The Supreme Court sided with the trial court, finding that Denson properly identified herself as the claimant because as minors, the grandchildren were unable to give notice or file a lawsuit.

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Knoxville attorney Roy Lewis Aaron died Oct. 6 at age 78. He received his degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1969, and his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law (now Winston College of Law) in 1972. Licensed to practice in both Florida and Tennessee, Aaron joined the law firm of Hodges, Doughty & Carson in 1976 with a focus on estate planning and tax law, becoming a partner in 1980. He retired in 2017 but continued in an “of counsel” capacity with the firm. He was a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation and the Knoxville Bar Foundation. A memorial service will be held on Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. EST at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, 9132 Kingston Pike, Knoxville 37923. Receiving of friends will follow in the Welcome Hall. Memorials may be made to the Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave., Knoxville 37916 or Friends of the Smokies.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 9 revoked probation and suspended Davidson County lawyer Michael Lloyd Freeman from the practice of law for three years, less 112 days previously served on suspension. On June 21, 2021, Freeman was suspended for three years, with three months to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation so long as he incurred no new complaints of misconduct resulting in discipline. After the three months of active suspension, Freeman was reinstated on Oct. 11. In 2022, Freeman was publicly censured on Jan. 10 and July 31. The court determined that these disciplinary actions violated the terms of probation and reinstated the full three-year suspension, minus the three months he served on active suspension in 2021.

A trial date has been set in the civil lawsuit filed by the family of an inmate who died last year at the Shelby County Jail. The case over the death of Ramon McGhee will go to trial Sept. 21, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Mark Norris. McGhee’s death was caused by severe anemia and dehydration, with contributing factors from insect infestation and schizophrenia, according to the Daily Memphian. McGhee’s mother filed the federal lawsuit in January, about a year after Ramon's death. She is represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump and local attorneys Brice Timmons and Craig Edgington. The lawsuit alleges severe neglect and improper care by jail staff, withholding of medication for a severe bedbug infestation, lack of a formal process for mental health screenings and non-sharing of court-ordered mental evaluations.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 9 imposed a public censured on Fayette County lawyer Leslie Adkins Miller. The court found that while Miller was representing a client whose parental rights were terminated, she failed to timely file documents required by the court. This failure resulted in the client’s appeal being dismissed. The court found that Miller’s action violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 , 3.2, 3.4 and 8.4(d).