A number of lawyers have been reinstated after being suspended for not paying their annual registration fee to the Board of Professional Responsibility. They include three who did not pay their fee in 2023, one in 2022, one in 2021, one in 2019 and one in 2014. The TBA has records of all administrative suspensions and reinstatements going back to 2005. See all lists here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently reinstated 26 lawyers who had been suspended for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements, including 16 suspended this year, four in 2023, two in 2022, one in 2020, one in 2019, one in 2017 and one in 2015.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently reinstated five lawyers who had been suspended on March 4, 2024, for failing to pay the state professional privilege tax. Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 26, attorneys who are deemed noncompliant for 90 days or more are summarily suspended. Those who since have complied with the rule are noted as reinstated. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for tax violations in 2024 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 23 suspended 15 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; nine of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for fee and IOLTA violations in 2024 — including 21 recently reinstated — or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

Atlanta lawyer Robert Andrew Free received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 19. Free represented a client in an immigration application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). A request for evidence was sent to Free’s office from USCIS, but he did not respond and did not send the request to his client. A decision was issued in the matter and sent to Free’s office a few months later, and he did not inform his client of the decision. Three years later, Free’s neglect was discovered, and he cooperated with the client’s subsequent attorney in seeking to reopen the immigration application. The court found these actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4 and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued conditional reinstatement for Virginia lawyer Daniel Lynn Withers on compliance with outstanding obligations with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education. Withers filed a petition for reinstatement of his law license on Nov. 20. The court gave him until Feb. 1, 2025, to complete the required CLE hours or warned that it would dismiss the petition.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected proposed disciplinary action against Sullivan County lawyer Samuel Ervin White and referred the matter back to the Board of Professional Responsibility. In its order, the court said the following: “Based on our review of the entire record in this matter, [we have] concerns that the recommended sanction, particularly the period of active suspension, is too lenient given the number of complaints, the serious nature of the alleged misconduct, including abandonment of vulnerable clients, and dishonesty in communications with clients, other lawyers and disciplinary counsel.” White had agreed to a conditional guilty plea to resolve complaints filed against him on Oct. 29.

The Tennessee Supreme Court immediately suspended Hamilton County lawyer Alan Christopher Norton from the practice of law until further order. The court took the action after it found that Norton posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. The suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court. Previous reporting indicated that Norton was charged with forgery after an investigation found he allegedly forged a judge's signature on court documents.

Davidson County lawyer Patricia Rae George was reinstated to the practice of law on Dec. 2. She had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago, on May 27, 2003. George filed a reinstatement petition. The Board of Professional Responsibility found it to be satisfactory.

Virginia lawyer Jonathan Morris Barnett was reinstated to the practice of law In Tennessee on Dec. 5. He had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago, on March 27, 2014. Barnett filed a reinstatement petition. The Board of Professional Responsibility found it to be satisfactory.