Two recent stories in TBA Today — one on May 7 and one on May 21 — incorrectly stated that the Shelby County Jail had failed two inspections over the last six years. The original source has now updated its reporting to note that the inspections found "deficiencies" not "failures" in the jail's operations. We have updated our reporting accordingly.

Gov. Bill Lee has signed into a law a bill to ban juveniles found to have committed serious crimes from buying firearms until they turn 25, Tennessee Journal reports. The “juvenile prohibitor” measure sponsored by Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, and Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, cleared both chambers late last session with a bipartisan vote. Aggravated assault, cruelty to animals, robbery and threats of mass violence are among the crimes that would be included in the ban according to the Tennessean.

State Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, is again challenging the qualification of his Republican opponent Jennifer Frensley Webb ahead of the November election, the Tennessean reports. A new lawsuit against Metro Nashville and the Davidson County Election Commission alleges that the commission violated state law when it certified Webb’s candidacy. The commission affirmed Webb's qualification to be on the ballot after spending several hours reviewing her petition signatures earlier this month, according to the Nashville Banner. This week, Mitchell’s attorney called that hearing "a farcical display of incompetence, lacking in legitimate procedure and riddled with flaws.”

Memphis-Shelby County Schools will not allow teachers to carry weapons on school property, the Daily Memphian reports. The district delivered the news in a joint public-service announcement with the Memphis Police Department and Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. School Superintendent Marie Feagins, interim Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis and Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner say that only trained security officers should oversee school safety. The announcement comes after the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law allowing districts to arm educators. Several suburban school districts in the county, including Arlington, Lakeland and Millington, already have announced they would not allow staff to carry guns on campus.

As parallel criminal and civil cases move forward against the Johnson City Police Department over its interactions with alleged serial rapist Sean Williams, new accusations have emerged that a co- conspirator laundered money to make extortion payments to police. The payments, according to women suing, came from Williams’ business partner, who made weekly payments of $2,000 using a complicated scheme to disguise the source of the funds. Police are accused of protecting the business partner and Williams in exchange for the payments. The new claims come as part of a suit filed last year alleging that officers failed to investigate sexual assault complaints against Williams. Tennessee Lookout has more.

Tennessee is joining with 29 other states and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to sue Live Nation Entertainment Inc. for antitrust violations related to Ticketmaster’s unrivaled control of concert ticket sales. The suit, which is to be filed in a New York court this week, comes almost 15 years after the two entities merged in 2010, Bloomberg Law reports. According to a press release from Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, Live Nation controls two of the most important parts of Tennessee’s live entertainment industry: ticketing and artist tours. “Since Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift ticketing debacle in 2022, my AG colleagues and I have relentlessly sought justice for Americans wanting to attend concerts without having their pocketbooks pillaged by Live Nation’s monopoly,” Skrmetti said. “I am glad to partner with the DOJ in the bipartisan effort to break up the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly.”

Memphis lawyer Miles Mason will receive the TBA’s prestigious Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing on June 14 during the group's Annual Convention in Memphis. The award, which will be presented at the Lawyers Luncheon, was established more than 40 years ago and is given each year to the lawyer who writes the most outstanding article published in the Tennessee Bar Journal for the preceding year. Mason will be recognized for his article “You Are the Father!: Untangling Custody Rights in Tennessee Between Unmarried Parents,” which appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of the Journal. Mason is the founder of Miles Mason Law Group PLC and a certified public accountant. He is a nationally recognized speaker who presents continuing education seminars across the country. His father-in-law, the late Judge Joe B. Jones, was the first recipient of the Joe Henry Award in 1981. Read the TBA's press release for more information.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on May 21 suspended 23 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; 11 of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for fee and IOLTA violations in 2024 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

Stuart Teicher, The CLE Performer, is back with three ethics webcasts on July 11. Don’t miss “What Emojis Teach About Lawyer Legal Ethics” at 9 a.m. CDT, “Cat Proverbs and Attorney Ethics” at 10:15 a.m. and “What Overrated Rock Bands Teach About Attorney Ethics” at 11:30 a.m. The titles say it all but for more information click on the links above to learn more or register to attend.

You’ve probably used a live chat window on a website; maybe with a business like Amazon, FedEx or an airline. Often times it’s handier than being on hold, even if you like hold music. Add the same capability to your website for client and prospect engagement. This chart compares major live chat vendors. Find this and more in the Opening a Firm section of TBA’s Law Practice Management Center.