The partners of Husch Blackwell LLP and Brown McCarroll LLP have voted to combine their ranks. Both firms concluded the partner ballot process necessary to merge the two firms on June 18, with an effective date of July 1. The combined firms will move forward together in all markets as Husch Blackwell LLP.  With the addition of Austin, Dallas and Houston, the new firm has ... (click for more)

The Chattanooga Women's Leadership Institute (CWLI) is now accepting applications for its 6th Annual Women Mentoring Women Program, which will begin on Aug. 23. The Women Mentoring Women program consists of eight two-hour lunchtime sessions designed to aid women in developing or sharpening their mentoring skills so they can go back into the community and mentor other ... (click for more)

Governor Bill Haslam on Wednesday announced that Deputy to the Governor Claude Ramsey will retire at the end of August to spend more time with his wife, children and grandchildren in Chattanooga. He said the former Hamilton County assessor and then county mayor "has been integral to me on several key initiatives, including civil service reform, economic development efforts, workforce ... (click for more)

An emotional Timothy Westfield on Wednesday told a Criminal Court jury how he was shot and how his friend Bernard Hughes was murdered almost three years ago at the British Woods Apartments. The witness identified Harold Francis "Bam" Butler, III, 33, and John "Cut Throat" Simpson as the gunmen. Simpson pleaded guilty earlier to second-degree murder and is expected to be a ... (click for more)

Today’s news that after a man was shot while coming to the aid of a friend, four were arrested (including two 13-year-olds) for robbery and attempted murder, followed by additional news that one of those arrested had previously pled guilty to aggravated burglary and was given a three-year suspended sentence, is further indication that our system of criminal justice is absolutely ... (click for more)

In the Broadway play, “The Civil War,” there is an emotional song called “Tell My Father,” the words that a dying Union soldier on a distant battlefield asked to be delivered when the other troops got back home. The reason Lt. Col. Mark Weber sang that very song with his oldest son Matt was because the highly-decorated officer was fighting Stage IV intestinal cancer at the ... (click for more)