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TBA Law Blog

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53 Attorneys Suspended for Administrative Violations

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 6, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions

Twenty-four Tennessee attorneys, 28 out of state attorneys and one international attorney have been suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court for failing to pay their annual registration fee and/or have not filed a mandatory compliance statement that eligible client funds are held in accounts participating in the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. Read a full list of suspended attorneys and access all administrative suspensions here.

Greene County Lawyer Suspended

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Aug 6, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions

Effective August 2, the Supreme Court of Tennessee suspended Greene County lawyer Edward Lee Kershaw from the practice of law for a period of four months, with 30 days served on active suspension and the remaining three months to be served on probation. The trial court determined Kershaw made comments toward the court and asked questions of a witness which were intended for no other purpose but to embarrass the witness and disrupt the judicial proceedings; published statements in a local newspaper about the court which Kershaw knew were untrue and were intended to call into question the judge’s qualifications and integrity; and published statements on social media which were made with reckless disregard and called into question the qualifications and integrity of all the judges in Greene County.

Rutherford County Lawyer Suspended

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 31, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions
The Supreme Court of Tennessee today temporarily suspended Rutherford County lawyer John Paul Doyle from the practice of law upon finding that Doyle failed to respond to the board regarding a complaint of misconduct. Section 12.3 of Supreme Court Rule 9 provides for the immediate summary suspension of an attorney’s license to practice law in cases of an attorney’s failure to respond to the board regarding a complaint of misconduct.

Washington County Lawyer Placed on Disability Inactive Status

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 30, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions
The Tennessee Supreme Court today transferred the law license of Washington County lawyer Tracey Alice Berry to disability inactive status pursuant to Section 27.3 of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9. Berry cannot practice law while on disability inactive status. She may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and she is fit to resume the practice of law.

Williamson County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 25, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions
Williamson County lawyer Tiffany Marcilynne Johns on Wednesday received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Johns was hired to defend a client on a petition for contempt. The petition alleged that Johns’ client had sent text messages to a neighbor in violation of an order of protection. Prior to any evidentiary hearing on the matter, Johns recommended that her client settle the matter by paying the neighbor’s alleged lost wages and attorney fees, without any proof of the wages provided, in a total amount “up to $5,000.” Johns and opposing counsel believed an agreement had been reached on these terms, but over the next two weeks, Johns’ client sent her two text messages and an email indicating she did not believe the matter had been settled. Opposing counsel then provided a draft order for Johns’ approval which stated that her client would pay the neighbor $5,500. Johns told opposing counsel to sign her name to the order without providing a copy of it to her client for review.  

Loudon County Lawyer Disbarred

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 25, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions
Loudon County lawyer Arthur Wayne Henry was disbarred from the practice of law on Wednesday. In the handling of an estate, when an heir of the decedent attempted to purchase the decedent’s real estate, Henry misappropriated the purchase money. When the heir of the decedent attempted to purchase the real estate a second time, Henry misappropriated the purchase money again and forged a deed in an effort to hide his actions. In the representation of a number of other clients, he failed to act diligently, failed to adequately communicate with his clients, failed to place unearned fees in his trust account, made misrepresentations to the clients to make them think their cases were progressing normally, and failed to advise his clients that he had been suspended. When terminated, Henry failed to refund the unearned fees and return his clients’ files.

Davidson County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 22, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions
Davidson County lawyer John Terence Tennyson on Friday received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Tennyson entered into a written agreement with his client for representation in a civil matter to be specifically filed in federal court. The agreement required payment of a $5,000 fee plus a contingent fee based upon recovery by settlement or judgment. The fee was not designated as a non-refundable fee and a penalty provision required his client to pay Tennyson at the rate of $370 per hour for his time if the representation was terminated. Tennyson was not diligent in the preparation and filing of the civil action despite regular assurances that it would be filed soon. Tennyson’s non-lawyer assistant inappropriately discussed legal matters directly with his client. After his client terminated the legal representation, Tennyson filed a civil action in state court without the client’s consent. Tennyson failed to timely serve summons upon the defendants and failed to formally withdraw from the action. The case was ultimately dismissed for lack of prosecution.

Knox County Lawyer Placed on Disability Inactive Status

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 22, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions
The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday transferred the law license of Knox County lawyer Charles Gilman Currier to disability inactive status pursuant to Section 27.3 of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9. Currier cannot practice law while on disability inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and he is fit to resume the practice of law.

Blount County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 18, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions
Blount County lawyer Lawrence Emory Little today received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. In Little’s role as fiduciary, he failed to diligently administer trust and estate matters and did not adequately communicate with the beneficiaries. He failed to safeguard trust and estate funds collected on behalf of beneficiaries and failed to keep adequate records of the administration of such matters. Little also failed to comply with an agreed court order requiring that he provide his complete file to successor counsel and provide a full and accurate accounting of an estate within 30 days.   

Mississippi Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jul 18, 2019
News Type: BPR Actions
Mississippi lawyer Wanda X. Abioto today received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Abioto is licensed to practice law in Mississippi and is only authorized to practice in Tennessee before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Abioto was retained to represent a Mississippi family in a claim for injuries which occurred in Mississippi against a food manufacturer and distributor which sold the product in Mississippi. Abioto used business cards and letterhead with addresses in Memphis and which listed a variety of practice areas, but did not contain a disclaimer indicating she was not licensed to practice in Tennessee. Abioto filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, which was not an appropriate venue. She failed to comply with a court order setting a deadline for service upon the defendants and the civil action was dismissed. Abioto subsequently re-filed the complaint in the same court and successfully served the defendants, but it was dismissed because Abioto relied upon Mississippi’s longer statute of limitations deadlines instead of Tennessee’s deadlines which had expired at the time the action was filed. Abioto then filed the only remaining cause of action in Mississippi state court without the knowledge or consent of her clients and formally withdrew from the representation without serving any of the defendants in the case.     
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