Longtime Knoxville criminal defense attorney Wade Davies has opened The Davies Law Firm. He is joined by associate attorney Georgia Miller and paralegal Meghan Franklin. The firm will focus on federal and state criminal defense, white collar investigations and defense, and BPR matters. Their office is located at 800 S Gay St #700, Knoxville 37929 and can be reached at (865) 686-6333 or online at wadedavies.law. Davies is a member of the Tennessee Bar Journal editorial board and the criminal law columnist for Journal.

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) program will hold a clinic on Feb. 5 for those needing legal advice on issues surrounding their creative practice. The free 30-minute in-person appointments are available to income-qualified artists, musicians, creatives and arts organizations in the state. The clinic will run from 6-8 p.m. CST at the Belmont College of Law, Randall and Sadie Baskin Center, 1901 15th Ave. S., Nashville 37212. Those needing help should register by Jan. 31. To volunteer at the clinic email vlpa@abcnashville.org.

Combining the disciplines of history and law, Memphis attorney Bryce Ashby and Rhodes College history professor Michael J. LaRosa in a new book explore the economic and historical challenges present in each Latin American nation that force "out" migration. "Immigration, Policy and the People of Latin America: Seven Sending Nations" unpacks the contemporary socio/political and economic realities of the seven sending nations — Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela — and explains the complexity of immigration laws (as passed by Congress), executive actions taken by individual presidents in the United States, and some state initiatives. Read an interview with the authors and Chapter 16.

The Association for Women Attorneys' (AWA) Annual Banquet will take place Jan. 23 at The Kent, 601 Kell Ave., Memphis 38107. A reception will begin at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. CST. This year’s banquet will honor Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Rhynette Hurd. Tickets are available for purchase online. For more information contact Faith Watson.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has addressed allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners (TBLE) and the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) violated the Americans with Disability Act by discriminating against two bar applicants “due to a substance use disorder or mental health disorder.” In a news release, the court says it “strongly disagrees” with the assertion that either agency discriminated against applicants based on health status or disability. “Both TBLE and TLAP follow well-established administrative processes that are designed to avoid discrimination against any applicant.” The statement continues that the court, TBLE and TLAP “have been and remain committed to treating persons with disabilities, including bar applicants with disabilities, with dignity and respect, and in compliance with all legal rights afforded to such applicants.” Read the full statement.

The Tennessee House of Representatives today adopted new rules governing operations of the chamber. The Tennessean reports that key changes include authority for the speaker to ban disruptive spectators from the gallery for up to two years, removal of members from the chamber for repeated violations of the rules, a new remote voting option for members who have been removed and a limit of 12 on the number of bills each rank and file member may introduce. In the next General Assembly, that number would drop to 10 bills each. For this session, leaders and committee chairs will be able to introduce 15 bills each. According to the paper, all House Democratic members and one Republican member voted against the package.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Fayette County, alleging that the Board of County Commissioners violated the Voting Rights Act when it adopted its 2021 redistricting plan. According to a news release from the agency, the new plan allegedly denied the city’s Black voters an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, argues that commissioners “deliberately rejected multiple districting plans that would have combined Black communities in districts that would allow Black voters to elect representatives of their choice.” According to Tennessee Lookout, Fayette County Mayor Rhea “Skip” Taylor confirmed the county is reviewing the lawsuit, but declined further comment.

The Tennessee Supreme Court censured Michigan attorney Alexander Robert Starr on Jan. 14. The court reports that Starr was authorized to practice in Tennessee while his application for comity admission was pending. Starr did not file motions for pro hac vice admission in at least six criminal cases in Henderson County over the course of five months as required under Rule 7. The court found that these actions violated Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court has transferred the law license of Shelby County lawyer Michael Joseph Parks to disability inactive status. Parks may not practice law while on inactive status but may petition for reinstatement by showing that his disability has been removed.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals panel recently heard arguments on whether the state’s voter registration policies disenfranchised some 500,000 residents with felony convictions. The Nashville Banner reports that the case stems from a 2020 class action lawsuit filed by the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, which claims that the policies violate the National Voter Registration Act by being overly complex and inequitable. A federal judge had temporarily blocked the rules in April, but the state successfully appealed to maintain them during litigation. At the hearing, the state's attorney argued that the NAACP lacked legal standing to challenge the rules, while the NAACP contended that the state's actions hinder voter registration efforts.