Tennessee

Bookkeeper Accused of Embezzling $1.7M from Nashville Law Firm

A bookkeeper has been indicted on charges that she embezzled $1.7 million from the Nashville, Tenn., law firm Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner. A 40-count indictment alleges Claire Thurman issued herself checks ranging from about $15,000 to more than $60,000 over a three-year period that began in 2006, the…

Sep 28, 2009 11:37 AM CDT

Fact-Finder or Legal Shield? Internal Probe a Tough Gig for In-House Counsel

In-house counsel are in a tough position when they oversee an internal corporate investigation. On the one hand, the company needs to understand the facts to make appropriate determinations. But, on the other hand, the facts may establish liability to third parties for any corporate wrongdoing. That essentially was the…

Sep 15, 2009 9:31 PM CDT

Recording Companies Sue Show of Ellen DeGeneres, the Newest Idol Judge

The nation’s biggest record companies have sued The Ellen DeGeneres Show, claiming songs played while DeGeneres dances violated their copyrights. The suit filed in federal court in Nashville, Tenn., alleges that when the show’s representatives were asked why they didn’t obtain licenses to the songs, they replied they didn’t ”roll…

Sep 11, 2009 12:53 PM CDT

Yet Another Law Firm Employee Is Accused in Claimed Embezzlement

Upping the ante in a rash of admitted or alleged embezzlements by law firm administrators recently, a former bookkeeper has been accused of stealing $150,000 from a Virginia Beach legal partnership. Norma Blackwell, 47, has been charged with mail fraud in federal court in Norfolk, Va., concerning the checks to…

Aug 14, 2009 10:45 PM CDT

Tenn. Law Firm Bookkeeper Is Accused as Ky. Law Firm Bookkeeper Is Sentenced

Partners of a Tennessee law firm apparently didn’t immediately notice that a bookkeeper allegedly was issuing herself five-figure checks from an escrow account. But after an auditor for Harwell Howard Hyne Gabbert & Manner focused on two $50,000-plus checks to bookkeeper Claire Thurman, she was charged in an arrest warrant…

Aug 12, 2009 5:52 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Stealing Money He Was Hired to Safeguard

A Nashville, Tenn., lawyer hired to recover money siphoned from a child-care program for poor children has been charged with misappropriating more than $100,000. Lawyer David Weed was charged with two counts of official misconduct, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Weed was appointed in 2001 as receiver to recover funds…

Aug 6, 2009 6:53 PM CDT

Buyers of Former Meth Homes Battle Ailments, File Suits

Possibly tens of thousands of homes have been used to make methamphetamine, causing health problems and financial worries for new owners and unsuspecting landlords. The New York Times chronicles the problems of homeowners Rhonda and Jason Holt, whose three babies became listless and struggled with breathing problems after they bought…

Jul 15, 2009 3:18 PM CDT

Law Firm Sued Over Divorce Client’s Use of Spyware

A law firm in Chattanooga, Tenn., has been sued for $2 million by a man who says one of its lawyers tried to use improperly intercepted e-mail in a divorce case. Farrell Hayes says in the suit that the law firm Berke, Berke and Berke represented his wife, Alice Suzanne…

Jul 6, 2009 6:39 PM CDT

Bradley Arant Reportedly Scammed Out of More Than $400K

Updated: Bradley Arant Boult Cummings fell victim to a sophisticated debt collection scam, to the tune of more than $400,000. But its quick reporting of the crime has led to the arrest of suspects. The Nashville Post (sub. req.) reported yesterday that the law firm wired more than $400,000 to…

Jun 11, 2009 2:39 PM CDT

Tennessee Law Firm Bass Berry Lays Off 10 Associates, 22 Staffers

Bass Berry & Sims has laid off 10 associates and 22 staff members at its three offices in Tennessee. Managing partner Keith Simmons told the Nashville Business Journal that the cuts were “proportionally divided” among the offices in Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis, and all practice areas were affected. The story…

Jun 11, 2009 12:22 PM CDT

Defense Lawyer Jailed Over Tenn. Courthouse Fracas, Trial is Postponed

Tennessee attorney Chris Cawood arrived with a client law enforcement officer at the Roane County Courthouse this morning for a trial that was to determine whether Mark Patton would remain in office as the county’s elected constable. But it had to be postponed after Cawood was jailed after a courthouse…

May 19, 2009 7:30 PM CDT

High Court Says Gov’t Must Pay for Clemency Counsel

In a 7-2 opinion Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the government should pay federally appointed lawyers for working on state clemency requests for death row inmates. The underlying case involved a clemency petition by Edward Jerome Harbison, who wanted the government to pay for his petition to the…

Apr 1, 2009 3:30 PM CDT

Tenn. Attorney is Accused of Drawing On Clients During Settlement Check Dispute

It was a standard legal representation up to the point of receiving a $4,000 settlement check in a homeowner’s insurance case, according to two clients of Shelbyville, Tenn., attorney Burt English. But when they went to pick up the check from his law office, contend Josh and Tasha Hendon, a…

Feb 18, 2009 7:25 PM CST

Judicial Diversity is Lacking, But Here’s What to Do to Improve, Report Says

Women and minorities are still underrepresented on the state trial and appellate court bench, regardless whether the judges are elected or appointed to their positions. But there are things that can be done to include their chances of winning seats proportionate to their representation in the general population, according to…

Feb 2, 2009 9:13 PM CST

Dickinson Wright Opens in Tenn., Plans Further Growth

A Michigan-based midsize law partnership has opened a Nashville, Tenn., office by acquiring a local 19-attorney firm. Stewart Estes & Donnell merged on Jan. 1 with Dickinson Wright, which now has an attorney roster of 260, reports the Nashville Business Journal. In addition to offices throughout Michigan, the 130-year-old Dickinson…

Jan 5, 2009 10:02 PM CST