NewsChannel5 is reporting that the landlord for downtown's L&C Tower has filed a claim against the State of Tennessee, asking for millions of dollars in damages stemming from the state's alleged failure to honor leases in the iconic high-rise. Veteran investigative reporter Phil Williams has the story here.

The lawsuit is available here and includes plenty of grenades being lobbed at state officials. Here's one.

Upon information and belief, under Project T3, the State has purported to terminate leases in the Nashville area and has provided inconsistent and changing termination dates for some of the terminations. Upon information and belief, the State has also held over on leases. Participants in the real estate market in the Nashville are aware of the State's inconsistency with purported termination dates and potential for the State holding over.

On July 1, a new law takes effect in Tennessee that will double the fine, to $5,000, for those assaulting a health care worker.

Gov. Bill Haslam signed off on the legislation — dubbed the Healthcare Workplace Violence Law — earlier this month. It was sponsored by the Tennessee Nurses Association with support from the American Nurses Association, as reported by HealthLeaders Media (read the June 10 article linked here).

“Fifteen healthcare workers out of every 10,000 experience an incident of violence in the workplace, a rate more than three times the total for the rest of the private industries. From 2003 to 2009, almost half of all non-fatal workplace violence incidents occurred in healthcare settings, most inflicted by patients.”

AHLA Connections magazine has named Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis the nation’s third largest firm, and the largest in the Southeast, with a health care law emphasis.

Last year, Waller was No. 4 on the list.

The publication, which serves as the flagship publication of the American Healthcare Lawyers Association, also named Waller as the second largest firm in the nation for long-term care, senior housing, in-home care and rehabilitation practice groups. For the past seven years, AHLA has ranked Waller among the nation’s Top 10 largest firms that emphasize health care-focused legal work.

Waller is based in Nashville and has offices in Birmingham, Ala. and Austin, Texas. With approximately 200 attorneys, the firm bills itself as Nashville’s oldest and largest.

The AHLA has about 11,500 members and is the largest trade association for health care lawyers in the United States. Rankings by AHLA Connections are based on AHLA memberships.

To read the news release, go here.

The American Bar Association has granted provisional accreditation to the Belmont University College of Law, BU officials announced today.

The ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar informed Belmont this past weekend

The milestone was achieved in the earliest possible timeline allowed by accreditation guidelines, BU officials said in a release.

“We are extremely pleased by this recognition of the legal education program that Dean Jeff Kinsler and the faculty of the Belmont College of Law have developed,” Dr. Thomas Burns, BU provost, said in the release. “The granting of provisional accreditation by the ABA validates the outstanding work being done by our administration, faculty and staff to develop a law program of the highest quality focused on preparing practice-ready attorneys.”

Under ABA rules, provisionally accredited law schools are entitled to all rights of fully accredited law schools. In particular, graduates of provisionally accredited law schools are entitled to the same recognition accorded to graduates of fully accredited law schools. A law school must be provisionally accredited for at least two years before applying for full accreditation. To grant provisional accreditation, the ABA reviews numerous factors including curriculum, facilities, library, admissions and faculty.
 

Brian Clifford, a former associate attorney with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, has joined Littler Mendelson.

Littler Mendelson, which opened its first Nashville office in 2011, has said it plans to grow aggressively in Music City. The San Francisco-based firm, which bills itself as the world's largest employment and labor law firm representing management, moved from its West End Avenue offices earlier this year to a larger space in the AT&T Building in downtown Nashville.

The firm has offices in 55 major metropolitan areas.

John White, the former chief investigating officer on the O.J. Simpson murder case and who also previously served as deputy chief of police of the Los Angeles Police Department, will lead a high-profile roster of speakers tomorrow at the Alternative Board of Nashville’s annual Leadership Summit.

The Alternative Board is a membership organization of business owners and CEOs who meet monthly in confidential board meetings to assist each other in transforming their businesses.

For more about the event, which will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Franklin Marriott in Cool Springs, go here.