Exclusive: Legal fees mount in MSCS takeover lawsuit
The Memphis-Shelby County Schools board participates in a meeting Aug. 26, 2025. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ court challenge of the state’s takeover of the school system has cost at least $211,700 in legal fees, according to MSCS and Shelby County government officials.
These fees, reported here for the first time, are for outside counsel representing MSCS and the county in the federal lawsuit.
Of those fees, bills to MSCS total $100,745, according to the district, who said it retained Baker Donelson and the Wade Firm. But the district said it is not using public dollars to pay them.
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Memphis-Shelby County Schools Shelby County Commission MSCS takeover Seeding Success Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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Laura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today. Reach Laura with questions, story ideas or tips: Ltestino@dailymemphian.com or Ldtestino.54 on Signal.
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