The Tennessee Supreme Court transferred the law license of Anderson County lawyer of Steven R. Seivers to disability inactive status on Aug. 27. Seivers may not practice law while on inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the court upon showing that his disability has been removed.

On Aug. 19, the Supreme Court of Tennessee suspended 73 attorneys for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements in 2024. View the order or see the full list online, including those who have been reinstated in the last few days. Attorneys suspended for not completing CLE requirements in 2019 and 2024 also recently were reinstated. Access all administrative suspension lists dating back to 2005.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Aug. 21 suspended 25 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; 13 of whom also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. Three lawyers have been reinstated since the list came out: two who had been suspended in 2024 and one in 2025. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for fee and IOLTA violations in 2025 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Aug. 20 dissolved a temporary suspension imposed on Hamilton County lawyer Steven Michael Hodgen on May 31, 2024. The court said that a final order of suspension imposed on Aug. 15 resolves the outstanding disciplinary matter against Hodgen and good cause exists to dissolve the temporary suspension.

Shelby County lawyer Brian Kirk Kelsey was reinstated to the practice of law on Aug. 20. He had been suspended on Dec. 8, 2022, after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions. The Tennessee Supreme Court approved the reinstatement based on Kelsey receiving a full and unconditional presidential pardon or the offenses on March 11.

Knox County lawyer Ray Hal Jenkins was suspended from the practice of law on Aug. 18 for two years. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that Jenkins committed professional misconduct by consuming alcohol on several occasions while performing his duties as judicial magistrate for the county. His actions were determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4.

On Aug. 15, Hamilton County lawyer Steven Michael Hodgen was suspended from the practice of law for six years, with five years to be serve on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The Tennessee Supreme Court conditioned probation on the appointment of a practice monitor. The action was taken after the court found that Hodgen indicated in court pleadings that he represented a party he had never spoken with, prejudiced the rights of a third party, and failed to reasonably communicate with the client, act in a diligent manner, expedite the client’s litigation, timely respond to dispositive motions, and discuss the case and filings with the complainant. His actions were determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4(d) and 8.4(a), (c), and (d).

Davidson County lawyer Sornavidya Saba Sankar was transferred to disability inactive status on Aug. 8 for an indefinite period of time and until further order from the Tennessee Supreme Court. The court also suspended all disciplinary proceedings pending against Sankar and closed all records relating to the disability proceeding.

Shelby County lawyer Gerald Denny Waggoner Jr. was reinstated to the practice of law on Aug. 8. Waggoner was suspended on Aug. 1, 2017, and again on July 11, 2023. The Tennessee Supreme Court also placed Waggoner on probation for two years. During each calendar year of probation, Waggoner must obtain an additional six hours of continuing legal education (CLE) on the proper handling of client funds and property, and engage a practice monitor. The monitor should meet with Waggoner monthly to review his office practices, client retainer agreements and trust accounts, and submit monthly reports to the Board of Professional Responsibility. Waggoner also was directed to employ a certified public accountant to review, reconcile and balance all trust accounts on a biannual basis for two years.

Indiana lawyer Carla Sheree Johnson was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on July 25. She had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago on Dec. 23, 2019. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that it found the petition for reinstatement to be satisfactory.