James A. Meaney III of Dalton, Georgia, was suspended from the practice of law in Tennessee for 11 months and 29 days, with three months to be served as an active suspension and the remainder on probation, subject to several conditions including a practice monitor and compliance with state licensure rules. All four of the complaints of ethical misconduct involve the unauthorized practice of law in Tennessee during periods of time when he was suspended for failure to comply with continuing legal education requirements and failure to pay professional privilege taxes. Learn more from the BPR press release.

William A. Lane of Thompson’s Station was disbarred on June 9 for submitting false and deceptive fee claims to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The court found that Lane failed to keep time records for work done on behalf of indigent defendants, billed out-of-court time as if it were in-court time, and failed to prorate his time when appearing on multiple cases during one hearing. Lane did not file an answer to the petition nor appear for the final hearing. Download the BPR release.

James Strong Powell was disbarred on June 5 based upon his conviction of aggravated perjury. The Board of Professional Responsibility instituted a formal proceeding to determine the extent of final discipline to be imposed, to which Powell did not respond. View the BPR notice.

Fletcher Whaley Long of Clarksville was publically censured on June 4. The Board of Professional Responsibility alleged Long committed ethical misconduct for failure to deposit a fee into his trust account despite a written agreement to do so, failure to provide an accounting of fees and failure to refund unearned fees. Long appealed the disciplinary sanction, which was affirmed by the Chancery Court and Tennessee Supreme Court. View the BPR notice.

Sharon K. Anderson was disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court on June 5 based upon her entry of a guilty plea to the fraudulent transmission of money. View the BPR notice.

The law license of Stephanie Derrick Gray was transferred to disability inactive status on June 2. Gray cannot practice law while on disability inactive status. She may return after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing of clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and she is fit to resume the practice of law. View the BPR notice.

Memphis lawyer John Robert Hershberger was suspended on May 30 for two years, with 60 days to be served on active suspension and the remainder to be served on probation so long as he meets several conditions. Those conditions include working with a practice monitor, establishing an operating account for his law practice and undergoing an evaluation by the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program. View the BPR notice.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today (May 27) transferred the law license of Lake County lawyer Timothy C. Naifeh to disability inactive status pursuant to Section 27.3 of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9. Naifeh may not practice law while on disability inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after showing by clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and he is fit to resume the practice of law. View the BPR release.

Robert Lawson Cheek Jr. was suspended from the practice of law on May 21 based upon his guilty plea of mail fraud. View the BPR notice.

Jacob Edward Erwin was temporarily suspended from the practice of law for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding a complaint of misconduct. View the BPR notice.