The law license of Davidson County lawyer Michael Leonard Underhill was transferred from disability inactive status to active status on Dec. 10. Underhill was placed on disability inactive status in September 2018. He filed a petition for transfer to active status on Nov. 15.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility and the CLE Commission recently reported that 26 lawyers previously suspended for administrative violations have been reinstated. They include one for CLE violations in 2019, one for CLE violations in 2012, 18 for nonpayment of fees in 2018, three for nonpayment of fees in 2015, one for nonpayment of fees in 2008, two for not paying the inactive fee in 2016 and one for not paying the inactive fee in 2013. See all lists of suspensions and reinstatements online.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Bedford lawyer Christopher Paul Westmoreland to active practice today, provided he retains a practice monitor during his remaining probationary period and does not incur any new complaints of misconduct. Westmoreland had been suspended on Oct. 16 for a period of nine months, with one month to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility and the CLE Commission recently reported that 35 lawyers previously suspended for administrative violations have been reinstated. They include four lawyers suspended for CLE violations in 2019, 27 lawyers suspended for not paying their 2019 professional privilege tax, one lawyer suspended for not paying the inactive fee in 2016, one lawyer suspended for not paying the annual fee in 2013, one lawyer suspended for not paying the annual fee in 2010, and one lawyer suspended for not paying the annual fee in 2008.

The Tennessee Supreme Court transferred the law license of Ohio lawyer Thomas Robert Wolf to disability inactive status on Nov. 22. Wolf may not practice law while on inactive status but may petition the court for reinstatement by showing by clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed, and he is fit to resume the practice of law.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 33 lawyers yesterday for failing to pay their annual registration fee or file the required notice that client funds are held in IOLTA-compliant accounts. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for these violations in 2019 or all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

Anderson County lawyer Sal William Varsalona was censured by the Supreme Court of Tennessee yesterday. The Board of Professional Responsibility filed a Petition for Discipline on July 9, 2018, after Varsalona represented a client in a divorce action and did not sufficiently communicate with opposing counsel and was not candid with the trial court. Varsalona executed a Conditional Guilty Plea acknowledging his misconduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 and 8.4(a), (c) and (d).

Knox County lawyer Patricia Rice Fritts and North Carolina lawyer William Arthur Osborne recently were reinstated to the practice of law. Fritts sought reinstatement after being placed on inactive status in October 1997. The court approved her request on Nov. 1 and made the reinstatement retroactive to Aug. 14, 2019. Osborne sought reinstatement after being placed on inactive status in March 2012. The court approved his request on Nov. 14 and made the reinstatement retroactive to Oct. 7.

A number of attorneys previously suspended for administrative violations have been reinstated to the practice of law. They include nine lawyers who failed to complete annual CLE requirements (one in 2011, two in 2014, one in 2016, one in 2018 and four in 2019), four attorneys who failed to pay the professional privilege tax in 2018 and three attorneys who failed to pay the tax in 2019. See updated lists at the links above or a review all administrative suspensions here.

Former Tennessee attorney Maurice Rudolph Franks, now a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court today. The court took the action after the Supreme Court of Colorado disbarred Franks on May 14, 1990. After giving Franks 30 days to show why reciprocal discipline should not be imposed, the court imposed the discipline and made the disbarment retroactive to the May 14, 1990, date.