TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Sep 10, 2020

The Tennessee Supreme Court today entered an order permanently disbarring Jacki “Jack” L. Garton from practicing law in Tennessee. Garton, a Dickson County lawyer, was trustee for a trust set up to provide for the daughter of state trooper Todd Larkins, who was killed by a tractor-trailer truck in 2005. The trust contained over $2 million from the settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit. Garton began quietly disbursing trust monies to himself in the form excessive fees, ultimately misappropriating more than $1 million from the trust. In 2019, Garton was convicted of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and tax fraud and the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended his law license. The Board of Professional Responsibility later recommended disbarring Garton. The high court agreed and today disbarred Garton. Under a new rule, attorneys disbarred on or after July 1 of this year are not eligible for reinstatement and are “permanently” disbarred. They cannot ask the court to reinstate their license and will never again practice law in the state. Read more on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.