TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jun 20, 2016

Hamblen County lawyer Richard Dale Darby on Friday received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility. The board found that Darby modified an existing fee agreement from an hourly fee to a flat non-refundable fee without obtaining written consent from his client; failed to deposit the unearned fee into his trust account; and failed to promptly refund unearned fees after terminating representation. The board also found that Darby created a conflict of interest by suing his client prior to formally withdrawing from representation. These actions were found to have violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5, 1.7, 1.15 and 1.16(d). Read the BPR notice.