REINSTATED

Davidson County lawyer Wendell Cornelius Dawson was reinstated to the practice of law on Nov. 7, 2024. He had been suspended on Jan. 26, 2024, for three years, with three months to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. His reinstatement is conditioned on engaging a practice monitor during the probationary period and incurring no new complaints related to the conduct for which he was suspended.

Florida lawyer Diane Joyce Geller was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Oct. 16, 2024. She had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago on May 16, 2013. The Board of Professional Responsibility reviewed her petition for reinstatement and determined it was satisfactory.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Davidson County lawyer Robert Redman Laser III to the practice of law on Oct. 7, 2024. He had been temporarily suspended on Nov. 1, 2023, for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility concerning a complaint of misconduct. On Sept. 25, 2024, Laser filed a motion demonstrating he had responded to the complaint and complied with conditions imposed by the suspension.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated the law license of Williamson County lawyer Jason Scott Mangrum on Nov. 7, 2024. On Oct. 4, 2024, Mangrum was suspended by the court for six months with 30 days to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. Mangrum filed a reinstatement petition on Oct. 28, 2024. The Board of Professional Responsibility found the petition to be satisfactory.

DISABILITY INACTIVE

The following lawyers had their law licenses transferred to disability inactive status. They may not practice law while on inactive status. They may seek reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court after showing that the disability has been removed.

• Gibson County lawyer Clifford Dwight Hawks, Oct. 28, 2024
• Davidson County lawyer Steven Lee Lefkovitz, Nov. 7, 2024
• Knox County lawyer William Wright Petty, Oct. 28, 2024
• Shelby County lawyer Cynthia Jeanne Tobin, Nov. 22, 2024
• Williamson County lawyer James L. Woodard, Nov. 19, 2024

Georgia lawyer Robert Andrew Free was transferred from disability inactive status to inactive status on Oct. 24, 2024, pending resolution of an outstanding disciplinary complaint. Free filed a petition for reinstatement on Sept. 12, 2024. He will remain on inactive status until further order of the court.

Suspended

The following lawyers were suspended from the practice of law after failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility about a misconduct complaint:

• Knox County lawyer Gary Lee Anderson, Oct. 29, 2024
• Carter County lawyer Jason Lee Holly, Oct. 28, 2024

The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Maury County lawyer Ashlyn Elizabeth Blevins from the practice of law on Nov. 22, 2024, after finding that she posed a threat of substantial harm to the public and was substantially non-compliant with a Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement. The court reports that Blevins failed to complete certain testing and additional treatment as required. Blevins was immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and directed to cease representing existing clients by Dec. 22, 2024. The court also approved a motion from the Board of Professional Responsibility to file an exhibit in the case under seal.

The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Hamilton County lawyer Patrick Bryant Hawley on Nov. 26, 2024, after finding that he posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. Hawley was immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and directed to cease representing existing clients by Dec. 26, 2024. A press release from prosecutors indicated that Hawley had been charged with several federal crimes, including sexual exploitation of children and possession and distribution of child pornography.

Davidson County lawyer John Benneth Iwu received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 7, 2024. The court found that Iwu agreed to the setting of a criminal court hearing on a particular date and then failed to attend the hearing. He also failed to advise his client of the date, which led to his client failing to attend the hearing. Iwu agreed to a conditional guilty plea acknowledging that his conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.4, 3.2, 3.4(c) and 8.4.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Nov. 18, 2024, suspended Madison County lawyer Marcus Allen Lipham from the practice of law after finding that he posed a threat of substantial harm to the public and was substantially non-compliant with a Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement. The court reported that Lipham failed to complete certain testing and additional treatment as required. Lipham was immediately precluded from accepting new cases and directed to cease representing existing clients by Dec. 18, 2024. The suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court. The court also approved an order allowing documents in the case to be filed under seal.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 4, 2024, suspended Williamson County lawyer Jason Scott Mangrum from the practice of law for six months, with one month to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The court found that Mangrum failed to adequately communicate with a client, failed to expedite litigation, charged an unreasonable fee, failed to properly withdraw from representation, and disobeyed an obligation under the rules of a tribunal. He agreed to a conditional guilty plea acknowledging his conduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.16, 3.2, 3.4, and 8.4 (a) and (d).

On Oct. 30, 2024, Maury County lawyer James Michael Marshall was suspended from the practice of law for five years, with four years to be served on active suspension and one year on probation. During the probationary period he is required to retain a practice monitor. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that Marshall failed to reasonably communicate with his client, act in a diligent manner, expedite litigation, pursue in a timely fashion the objectives of his client, communicate with his client that he accepted new employment, place client funds into trust, properly withdraw from representation, and failed to take reasonable steps to protect the client’s interest after terminating representation. His conduct was determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4, 1.15, 1.16(c), 3.2, 3.4(c) and 8.4(a). The court also issued an order temporarily suspending Marshall for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility about a complaint of misconduct. That suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court.

On Nov. 26, 2024, The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Sumner County lawyer Jocelyn Doria Mims from the practice of law until further order of the court. The court took the action after Mims was adjudged guilty of two felony counts of tampering with evidence, one count of making false report, and three counts of Intentional failure to report child sexual abuse. The matter was referred to the Board of Professional Responsibility to determine the extent of final discipline to be imposed.

Censured

Colorado lawyer Melanie Beth Shada received a public censure  from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 24, 2024. Shada was hired by a client to prepare estate planning documents. The court found that she sent draft documents to the client but failed to finalize the documents or respond to multiple requests for information. She also failed to respond in a timely manner to the disciplinary complaint. Her actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 and 8.1.

Knox County lawyer Kristen Crye Stevenson received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. The court found that Stevenson “knowingly and repeatedly” failed to notify her client that the court overseeing the client’s workers’ compensation case had ordered the employer to approve medical treatment while the case was pending. Stevenson also repeatedly failed to appear at court-ordered conferences and hearings and failed to submit required filings. These actions led to her client being assessed sanctions, fines and attorneys’ fees in excess of $16,000. Her actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.3, 1.4(a), 3.2 and 3.4(c).

Montgomery County lawyer Kevin William Teets Jr. received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 24, 2024. The court found that in representing two clients seeking damages from an apartment fire, Teets accepted a retainer but never filed a lawsuit. The same clients then hired Teets to defend them in a detainer matter relating to a different apartment. In that matter, Teets failed to attend multiple court dates, resulting in default judgment and a judgment for damages being entered against the clients. He also failed to respond to numerous requests for information from the clients. The court found that his actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.15, 1.16, 3.2, 3.4 and 8.4.

Shelby County lawyer Larry A. Weissman received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. The court found that Weissman was not diligent in checking a client’s case status, which led to him not discovering that the case, which had previously been dismissed, was never reopened. This led to a delay in moving the case forward. Weissman also did not consult with the client about how her case was being handled and did not abide by her decision to set the case for trial. Later in the case, he stopped communicating with the client, stopped doing any work on her case and disregarded the client’s requests that he withdraw. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4(a), 1.16(a) and 3.2.

Board of Judicial Conduct

The Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct issued a reprimand to Putnam County General Sessions Judge Steven Randolph on Oct. 14, 2024, for actions taken in a case involving an unlicensed driver who damaged his vehicle. The board found that Randolph should not have heard the case since he had an interest in its outcome, including the payment of restitution. Randolph argued that the defendant had waived any recusal challenges, that the amount of restitution to be paid was “miniscule” and any violation was “technical, not substantive,” but nonetheless acknowledged he should not have heard the case. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Judicial Conduct 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3.

Administrative Suspensions

Notice of attorneys suspended for, and reinstated from, administrative violations — including failure to pay the Board of Professional Responsibility licensing and inactive fees, file the required IOLTA report, comply with continuing legal education requirements, and pay the Tennessee professional privilege tax — is on the TBA website at www.tba.org/administrative_suspensions. |||