Tennessee

* Tennessee has become the second state in the country to delay the administration of the summer bar exam. [Nashville Post]

* A New Jersey lawyer has been disbarred for converting $92,000 from his attorney trust account. [New Jersey Law Journal]

* A Manhattan judge (before whom I argued my first motion years ago!) has dismissed a conservative group’s defamation lawsuit against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. [New York Daily News]

* Joe Biden’s campaign is preparing an army of lawyers as part of voter protection efforts. [CNN]

* The ACLU has filed a lawsuit seeking to delay an execution because the inmate’s Buddhist priest is at risk of complications should he contract COVID-19. Have to give props to those lawyers for a creative argument. [Hill]

* Tennessee wants to go all in with the ballot selfie ban. [The Tennessean]

* What the hell does the 21st Century Cures Act do? [MedCity News]

* Shoe’s on the other foot now, apocryphal Nigerian billionaire. [New York Daily News]

* Just after Christmas seems like the perfect time to ask the Supreme Court to figure out sales tax rules for out-of-state deliveries. [SCOTUSblog]

* We’ll have recreational marijuana… when we get around to it. [ABC News]

* Poe’s Law > Godwin’s Law. [Slate]

* Somebody cry Justin Timberlake a river, because the pop star is currently under investigation for taking a ballot selfie in his home state of Tennessee. He may face up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $50 for posting a picture of himself at a polling station on his Instagram account, where it was seen by his more than 37 million followers. [Reuters]

UPDATE: Amy Weirich, District Attorney General of Shelby County, Tennessee, said the following as to Timberlake’s alleged violation of the state’s ballot selfie law: “No one in our office is currently investigating this matter nor will we be using our limited resources to do so.”

* If Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump were to win the election, he’d be entering the presidency with an unprecedented number of unresolved legal cases. At present, Trump has at least 75 pending lawsuits, and they’d follow him to the White House where he’d continue to be dogged by them, leaving him distracted. [USA Today]

* “Diversity is the future; embrace it or you’re obsolete.” According to Andrew Glincher, Nixon Peabody’s managing partner, his firm has tried to increase its diversity because while the legal profession itself is “focused on past and precedent,” his firm is “future-focused,” and he finds that a diverse workforce makes his teams better overall. [Forbes]

* Want to attend a law school that will teach you about real-life music issues? Want to attend a law school that’s produced some of the most well-known music lawyers in the country? Then you may want to attend one of these 10 law schools (many in the T14), handpicked by Billboard for their elite alumni practicing in the music field. [Billboard]

* Citing changes in donor participation, Big Bend CrimeStoppers has reduced the reward being offered for information leading to an arrest in the 2014 killing of Florida State law professor Dan Markel. Considering three suspects have been arrested and charged — and one of them has already taken a plea deal — this isn’t so bad. [Tallahassee Democrat]

* In case you haven’t been keeping score like we have, these are the firms that recently raised salaries: Kaye Scholer, Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst, and Kasowitz Benson. If you’re worried you’ve missed any of our coverage on pay raises, you can check out our omnibus 2016 salary chart where we collect these stories. [2016 Salary Increase / Above the Law]

* Brexit isn’t just the financial undoing of a nation anymore: Boston Beer, the brewer of Sam Adams Boston Lager, has filed an intent-to-use trademark application to turn Brexit into a hard cider made from apples sourced in the UK. Just close your eyes, think of England, and take a swig before the next time you look at your 401(k). [WSJ Law Blog]

* This term at the Supreme Court was a big letdown for conservatives. First, Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, and then the high court continued to shift leftwards, leading liberals to prevail in some of the Court’s most influential decisions, from affirmative action to abortion rights. Better luck next term, conservatives. [Washington Post]

* Even though the school has offered buyouts to all of its tenured faculty and laid off staff, Dean Andrea Lyon says the worst is over for Valparaiso Law. Meanwhile, the school’s former dean says it could close, but doesn’t think it’s likely. Right now, he’s more worried about whether Valpo’s former students will survive. [Indiana Lawyer]

* Trinity Western University may have to take its law school aspirations to the Supreme Court of Canada. As it stands, there are three provinces that refuse to accredit the law school based on the fact that students and staff must sign a discriminatory covenant to abstain from sexual activity unless it’s between husband and wife. [CBC News]

* Former TV Judge Joe Brown can no longer practice law in Tennessee because he’s been placed on disability inactive status. Brown had a petition for discipline filed against him this fall after an unseemly outburst in court, which he now blames on complications from diabetes medication, hypertension, and stress. Get well soon. [Commercial Appeal]

* David Mourey, the former assistant dean for bar preparation and academic success at Barry Law, was fired after students continued to fail the bar exam, but in a recently filed gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, he claims he was discriminated against because he was “singled out for discipline by an all-female management team.” We may have more on this later. [Orlando Sentinel]

* Despite the wishes of the public and rumors of his firing in the face of the Baylor University coverup of reports of rape and sexual assault by football players, “Ken Starr is [still] president and chancellor of Baylor University.” According to a university spokeswoman, the school has not yet finished reviewing Pepper Hamilton’s report on the matter, but Baylor will likely make an announcement by June 3. [Associated Press]

* “We are willing to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court if we have to.” Eleven states have filed suit against the Obama Administration in an effort to get around its guidance on transgender rights for children in schools, calling the policy a “massive social experiment.” The states suing are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. [Reuters]

* Sumner Redstone turns 93 years old tomorrow, and he’s been in and out of court for the past few months in a battle to prove he’s mentally competent. The salacious case filed by his former female companion may have been dismissed, but now he’s attempting to fend off claims from Viacom directors who were ousted from a trust that will control his media holdings if he dies or is found incompetent. [DealBook / New York Times]

* Now that the world knows that PayPal’s co-founder provided funding for Hulk Hogan’s invasion of privacy suit against Gawker, it’s time to take a look at the lawyer who’s been representing the wrestler. Charles Harder is no stranger to Hollywood cases, and may be a longtime fan of litigation finance since he “[tries] to win and do so in a way that’s cost effective for a client, so they don’t lose when they’re winning.” [WSJ Law Blog]

* Since revenge litigation finance’s recent invention, what’s there to keep billionaires from destroying you with lawsuits? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not much, especially when “there is no obligation to disclose the litigation financing arrangements” that have been made. Ethical issues aside, we really hope the super-rich wield their new power to ruin lives through rented lawsuits carefully. [Fortune]

* The deal to combine drug giants Allergan and Pfizer in an inversion was called off after the US Treasury announced new rules to limit the tax benefits of moving the corporate headquarters overseas. [Quartz]

* Should the IRS be going after the Pittsburgh Penguins for letting Sidney Crosby live in the owner’s house? [Bloomberg / BNA]

* Pretty sure Vivia Chen has covered all the options in her latest article exploring the benefits of having women leaders at law firms. [Careerist]

* Corporations may be taking an active role in opposing the recent spate of anti-LGBTQ legislation, but that still doesn’t make them people. [Reuters]

* “Jackie” from the Rolling Stone UVA rape article, which is now the subject of litigation, will have to testify in the pending action, despite her lawyer’s claim that revisiting the incident would be traumatizing. [Gawker]

* Is the Bible about to become the official state symbol of Tennessee? [NPR]

* Claiming to be a sovereign citizen is silly, and it certainly won’t insulate you from charges of chid sex abuse and kidnapping. [Jezebel]

* The legalese in user agreements is no joke. Fortunately there’s a cartoon — yup, you heard right, a cartoon — to make sense of the iTunes agreement. [Slate]

* Science says we should let go of our workplace grudges. I guess “science” never spent Christmas Eve redacting Excel spreadsheets so a production could be made by midnight. [Quartz]

* The Tennessee judge who characterized the Supreme Court as wielding an “iron fist and limp wrist” over Obergefell… yeah, he got reprimanded. [Legal Profession Blog]

* What the hell is going on at University of Louisville Law School. [Tax Prof Blog]

* The bureaucratic bulls**t behind Obama’s inability to close the doors on Gitmo. [Huffington Post]

* The best (worst?) of the right-wing blogosphere. Be sure to take your blood pressure medication before you click. [Village Voice]

* The crime of being young, black and free. [The Root]

* Congrats to Texas’s Tweeter Laureate, Justice Don Willett, on this latest positive press! [San Antonio Express-News]

* A person of interest in the shooting of Texas Judge Julie Kocurek has been apprehended and arrested — not for the shooting, mind you, but for a completely unrelated crime. Judge Kocurek continues her steady recovery after being seriously injured not by a bullet, but by shrapnel and glass. [Austin American-Statesman]

* Barnes & Thornburg partner Vincent “Trace” Schmeltz may be sanctioned for tweeting pictures that he took of the evidence that was presented during a trial. He claims he didn’t see the huge sign outside the courtroom prohibiting “photographing, recording or broadcasting.” [Chicago Tribune via ABA Journal]

* Schneiderman, Schneiderman! Bans sports-betting wherever he can! New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a cease-and-desist order against DraftKings and FanDuel, saying the daily fantasy sites constituted illegal gambling. [New York Times]

* Dentons finally formalized its merger with Dacheng Law Offices yesterday, thus making it the official largest law firm in the world. At 6,600 lawyers strong, just think about how many scandals we’ll be able to cover in 2016. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]

* According to the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, more women are being welcomed into the ranks of partnership at major firms. Out of 118 firms, women made up 34.4 percent of new partner classes. Let’s celebrate that less-than-50-percent benchmark! [WSJ Law Blog]

* Fred Auston Wortman III, the Tennessee attorney who tried to murder his estranged wife, Staci, by lacing her toothpaste with poison, and later hired an inmate to do the deed after his plan failed, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. [Commercial Appeal]

* Here are three ways you can balance your law school applications with your college responsibilities, but to be honest, if you’re having trouble balancing these things, then perhaps you don’t belong in law school. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]

* Lawsuit ahead for Rosie O’Donnell! The comedienne was sued by a former The View producer she was allegedly mean to. [Jezebel]

* The Amazing Schneiderman is at it again! This time he’s going after Martin Shkreli for antitrust violations. [Dealbreaker]

* So Justice Breyer heard a case about a company he holds stock in. The self-monitoring SCOTUS does for conflicts seems to be working out swimmingly. [Fix the Court]

* The IRS computers are still on Window XP. Good thing we don’t give them super sensitive information or anything. [TaxProf Blog]

* Looks like Clay County, Tennessee, schools will indeed stay open. Score one for litigation. [Slate]

* Sure to get Second Amendment enthusiasts fired up: let’s create a Mount Doom for guns! [Wonkette]

* $5 for some [possibly] unauthorized legal advice? Still sounds like a raw deal. [The Associate’s Mind]

* A judge limits the questions a doctor can ask patients — when they’re about guns, that is. [Harvard Law And Policy Review]

* Is it even possible to have non-lawyer friends? Don’t they all leave you once you’ve canceled plans for the 800th time? [Daily Lawyer Tips]

* “We saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and she just blew that tunnel up.” Massachusetts teen Michelle Carter was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of her boyfriend after she texted him numerous times, encouraging him to kill himself. If you haven’t seen them, her messages are chilling. [Associated Press]

* “If you are a lawyer thinking about having sex with your client, you better think first.” Go ahead, argue that your client’s 30-day suspension from practice was “just” because the woman kept coming back for more. Maybe your judge won’t be as sarcastic. [Knoxville News Sentinel]

* If you’re starting law school, you probably haven’t heard about the biggest law firm bankruptcy in history, and you likely don’t know what the Dewey & LeBoeuf criminal trial is about. Here’s a listicle of reasons to doubt the prosecution’s case. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Biglaw firms are rethinking their office space at the same time as they’re building up their posh amenities. At the end of the day, associates may be forced to move to cubicles, but it’s all for the clients’ benefit, so hooray for them. *golf claps* [Commercial Observer]

* Our congratulations go out to Alicia Ouellette, Albany Law School’s newest president and dean. We’re certainly hopeful that she’ll be able to handle the tenuous employment situation with the school’s tenured faculty better than her predecessor did. [Times Union]