McMinn County lawyer Andrew Edward Bateman was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday after the court found that he created a conflict of interest by agreeing to represent both a husband and wife in an adoption matter. In addition, though the wife’s divorce counsel specifically instructed Bateman not to file the adoption petition, he did so. And he stated in the petition it was unknown whether the wife consented to the adoption proceeding though he knew she did not. In addition, the court found that Bateman created a conflict of interest when he filed a divorce complaint against the wife on behalf of the husband while representing both of them in the adoption matter. Finally, the court found that Bateman assisted the husband in ghostwriting pleadings in the divorce case after withdrawing from representation. The court found these actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.7(a), 3.1, 3.3(a), 4.1 and 8.4(a)(c) and (d).

Knox County lawyer Kristal Lyn Muse was reinstated to the practice of law on Sept. 30. Muse had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago, on Dec. 28, 2012. She filed a petition for reinstatement, which the Board of Professional Responsibility reported it found satisfactory.

Mississippi lawyer Christine Bocek Whitman was reinstated to the practice of law on Oct. 4. She was placed on inactive status more than five years ago, on May 19, 2014. Whitman filed a petition for reinstatement, which the Board of Professional Responsibility reported it found satisfactory.

Texas lawyer Arienne Brint Lebow filed a petition for reinstatement on June 7. The Tennessee Supreme Court responded that the petition would not be acted on until outstanding CLE obligations were resolved. On Sept. 27, the court sent a second letter informing Lebow that if outstanding CLE obligations were not resolved by Oct. 28 his petition would be dismissed. The court reported this week that as of Oct. 28, Lebow had not complied with CLE obligations and the petition was dismissed.

Shelby County lawyer Clay M. McCormack was reinstated to the practice of law on Oct. 29 subject to certain conditions, including the requirement that he engage a practice monitor. McCormack was suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Oct. 5, 2018, for five years, with one year to be served on active suspension and the remaining four years to be served on probation. McCormack filed a petition for reinstatement, which the Board of Professional Responsibility reported it found to be satisfactory.

The Supreme Court of Tennessee today suspended Knox County lawyer Wendell Kyle Hall for two years, with 60 days on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The court held that Hall deposited funds from a settlement into his trust account, converted those funds to pay for personal expenses and failed to promptly notify a third party that he had received the funds. In a separate case, the court found Hall failed to serve a defendant, failed to properly dismiss the case, refiled the case improperly and did not consult with his client regarding a motion to dismiss. Hall filed a notice of appeal without advising his client, failed to comply with appellate procedures or respond to a show cause order and caused the appeal to be dismissed. Finally, the court found Hall failed to inform his clients that their lawsuit had been dismissed in the trial court and on appeal. 

Shelby County lawyer William Allan Cohn was publicly censured today by the Supreme Court of Tennessee. On June 5, 2018, the Board of Professional Responsibility filed a Petition for Discipline alleging that Cohn accepted a non-refundable fee and cost deposit to handle an uncontested divorce. After completing the necessary pleadings, his client’s wife refused to sign the documents, and Cohn was terminated by his client. Cohn believed that the fee agreement entitled him to additional fees, and he used the cost deposit to cover the additional fees. No costs had been incurred during the course of the representation, and the cost deposit should have remained in Cohn’s IOLTA account until they were refunded to the client. A Hearing Panel found Cohn violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15(c) and 8.4(a).

Shelby County lawyer Charles Edgar Waldman received a public censure today from the Board of Professional Responsibility. The board found that Waldman failed to timely file a motion for a new trial after sentencing of a criminal client. That resulted in the loss of jurisdiction over the case by the trial court and passing of the appeal deadline. Waldman thereafter failed to protect the client’s interests by failing to request permission to late-file the appeal and instead withdrew from further representation. His actions were determined to have violated Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(d) and 8.4(a) and (d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday denied motions from Davidson County lawyer Brian Phillip Manookian, who had sought to have his suspension from the practice of law dissolved. The court on Oct.11 had reinstated a suspension against Manookian for violations of conditions imposed on May 17 as part of an agreement to lift his suspension and place him on probation instead. That same day, Manookian filed a petition for dissolution of the suspension. On Oct. 15, he filed another petition arguing that he did not meet the qualifications for suspension. After reviewing both petitions, the Board of Professional Responsibility determined that Manookian had failed to establish good cause for dissolution or modification of the suspension. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Wendell J. O’Reilly on Thursday after finding that he failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility. He is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by Nov. 16.