The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended the law license of Davidson County lawyer Mickie Smith Daugherty after finding that she failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility about a complaint and posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. The court reported that the complaint alleged misappropriation of funds. Daugherty is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by Sept. 19. The court also issued an order allowing documents in the case to be filed under seal.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has directed Florida lawyer Grace Ingrid Gardiner to respond within 30 days why discipline imposed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota should not also be imposed in Tennessee. On June 20, the Minnesota court imposed an indefinite suspension on Gardiner.

Kentucky lawyer Joy Jaye Minner was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Aug. 14. She had been on inactive status for more than five years, since May 21, 2010. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and the court approved the petition.

Georgia lawyer Timothy Minthorn Klob was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Aug. 14. He had been on inactive status for more than five years, since Sept. 12, 2012. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and the court approved the petition.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommended discipline for White County lawyer John Edward Hutson. The court stated that based on its review of the entire record, it had concerns that the proposed sanction was too lenient. “One of the mitigating circumstances listed in the protocol memorandum — absence of a dishonest or selfish motive — clearly does not apply to the facts that are admitted by the plea,” the court wrote in its order. Hutson agreed to a conditional guilty plea on April 18. The court rejected that plea and referred the matter back to the board for “further proceedings consistent with” the order.

Hamilton County lawyer Arthur C. Grisham has been reinstated to the practice of law. He had been temporarily suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 29 for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility about a misconduct complaint. The court noted that after Grisham provided a response, the board recommended reinstatement of his license.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended Shelby County lawyer Larry E. Fitzgerald from the practice of law for four years, with the first two years to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The court took the action based on 12 separate complaints filed by clients. It found that Fitzgerald failed to communicate reasonably with clients, diligently perform work necessary for representation, properly maintain client funds in an IOLTA trust account, keep accurate accounting of funds kept in trust, return unearned client fees, properly conclude representation of clients, and respond to requests for information from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Fitzgerald agreed to a conditional guilty plea acknowledging his conduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.15, 1.16 and 8.1(b).

The Tennessee Supreme Court has referred the case of Jefferson County attorney James Richard Scroggins to the Board of Professional Responsibility for “whatever action” it “may deem warranted.” The court took the action after Scroggins “pled guilty to and was adjudged guilty of Driving Under the Influence, a Class A misdemeanor, in violation of T.C.A. § 55-10-401” in the Jefferson County General Sessions Court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has imposed a one-year suspension on Connecticut lawyer Jason Russell Buckley based on imposition of the same discipline by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in September 2023. Maine took the action after Buckley requested CLE credit for two webcast seminars that occurred simultaneously. On April 8, the Tennessee court asked Buckley to file an answer as to why it should not apply the same discipline. Buckley filed a response on May 6, arguing that identical discipline should not be imposed in Tennessee based on Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 25.4. The Board of Professional Responsibility reviewed the claim and found that none of the elements in the rule apply to this case. The court agreed and imposed the suspension retroactive to Sept. 7, 2023.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has dismissed a petition for reinstatement from Shelia L. Robinson-Beasley. The Shelby County lawyer was temporarily suspended on April 4 for misappropriating funds for her personal use and posing a threat of substantial harm to the public. On May 7, Robinson-Beasley filed a petition for reinstatement/dissolution and/or amendment of temporary suspension. A three-member panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility recommended that the petition be denied. The court agreed, keeping the temporary suspension in place until final disposition of the pending disciplinary complaint.