Sevier County lawyer William Lee Wheatley was censured on Jan. 6 for failing to maintain reasonable communication with a client he was appointed to represent in a dependency and neglect matter. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that Wheatley did not communicate with the client until after a disciplinary complaint was filed. Download the BPR notice.

Memphis lawyer William T. Maxwell was suspended from the practice of law on Jan. 7 for one year retroactive to July 19, 2012, the date he was transferred from disability inactive status to active status. The court imposed the suspension after Maxwell self-reported that he misappropriated funds from his real estate trust account but later returned the funds. Prior to any reinstatement, the court directed that Maxwell engage a practice monitor and comply with any recommendations of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program. Download the BPR notice.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended the law license of Jasper lawyer Jesse Walker Dalton III for one year on Jan. 7. The court directed Dalton to serve three months on active suspension with the remaining nine months to be served on probation so long as he engages a practice monitor and undergoes assessment by the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program. The court also noted that Dalton is currently suspended for noncompliance with CLE requirements and the new suspension will begin once he is reinstated from that suspension. The court found that Dalton was late for, missed and fell asleep during court and client meetings; failed to timely return clients’ phone calls; appeared in the office with slurred speech, glazed eyes and disheveled dress; and failed to deposit a cash retainer into his trust account. Download the BPR notice.

Mark Kelley Braswell of Washington, D.C., was suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 27 for six months, retroactive to May 22, 2012, when he was suspended for failure to respond to a complaint of misconduct. In addition, at the end of the six months, Braswell will remain indefinitely suspended until he pays $40,000 in restitution to a former client. The court found that in representing the client in a federal appeal in Florida, Braswell failed to appear at trial, failed to timely file a brief, misled the client that the brief had been filed, and misled opposing counsel by implying a copy of the brief would be delivered by FedEx. These actions led to dismissal of the client’s appeal. In choosing to suspend Braswell, the court cited the fact that he was experiencing serious health problems during the representation and had no prior disciplinary record. Download the BPR notice.

McMinn County lawyer Paul Donald Rush was publicly censured on Dec. 27, 2013, for intentionally soliciting from a prosecution witness a statement that had been prohibited by court order prior to trial. The Board of Professional Responsibility also found that Rush failed to report the misconduct though being ordered to do so by the trial court. Download the BPR notice.

The Tennessee Supreme Court publicly censured Memphis lawyer Samuel Rodriguez III on Dec. 23 after finding that he was not diligent in handling his clients' cases and did not communicate with his clients for extended periods of time. Other failures included not withdrawing after his client’s petition for post conviction relief was denied, not filing a notice of appeal in a timely manner, not pursuing an appeal and not filing an appeal brief in a timely manner. Download the BPR notice.

Franklin lawyer Huntly Scott Gordon was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 23 for conflicts of interest and conducting prohibited transactions. Gordon was one of several investors in the development of two tracts of land. Over a two-year period, he collected rent on three houses while a fourth was provided rent-free. He later claimed that he had a verbal agreement allowing him to retain the rent and live in the house in exchange for services provided by the renters. The court found that his actions violated requirements that agreements be put in writing. Download the BPR notice.

The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Hamblen County lawyer Joseph James Doherty from the practice of law on Dec. 27 after finding that Doherty failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding a complaint of misconduct. Download the BPR notice.

The Supreme Court of Tennessee reinstated the law license of James A. Meaney III of Ringgold, Ga., on Dec. 23. Meaney was suspended on March 6, 2012, after failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding a complaint of misconduct. Download the BPR notice.

On Dec. 23, Memphis lawyer Thomas D. Henderson, who is an assistant district attorney, was publicly censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court. He submitted a conditional guilty plea that he did not make timely disclosures of all exculpatory evidence during discovery while prosecuting a capital murder case, both in 1998 and again in 2004 when the case was on retrial. Download the BPR notice.