Rutherford County lawyer David Bennett LaRoche received a censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 7. The court reports that LaRoche received a private reprimand on July 30, 2025, for violations of Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.16. The court also ordered him to refund $500 of a client’s money. The court now has found that LaRoche failed to meet the condition of his private reprimand, did not refund the client’s money and failed to respond to a lawful demand for information from the disciplinary counsel concerning the matter. The censure was imposed for violations for Rules of Professional Conduct 3.1, 8.1 and 8.4.

Shelby County lawyer Theodore Iver Jones received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 1. Jones was hired to represent a client to obtain clear title on two separate properties. The court found that throughout the representation, Jones failed to act diligently on behalf of his client and misrepresented the status of the case to his client. These actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 and 8.4.

On April 1, the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Jeffrey Dennis Johnson from the practice of law for two years, with 30 days to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The court conditioned probation on Johnson’s engagement of a practice monitor, completion of additional continuing legal education hours and payment of incurred litigation costs. Johnson represented a client in a criminal matter after representing the client in a separate criminal matter some years previously. The court found that the new representation was improperly conditioned upon the client making outstanding payments for the prior representation. In a subsequent motion to withdraw from the most recent representation, Johnson also made derogatory and disparaging statements about his client, and revealed confidential information related to the representation of the client without the client’s consent. These actions were found to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6, 1.7, 1.9, 1.16, 3.5(e) and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court on April 1 permanently disbarred Madison County lawyer Marcus Allen Lipham from the practice of law and ordered him to pay restitution to seven former clients in the total amount of $26,500. The court took the action based on nine separate misconduct complaints. The court determined that Lipham knowingly failed to provide competent representation, act within the scope and authority communicated by clients, act with reasonable diligence, communicate with clients, properly terminate representation, expedite litigation, provide legal services after accepting fees and respond to multiple inquiries for information. The court also found that he charged unreasonable fees, made false statements to courts and parties and engaged in misconduct involving prejudice to the administration of justice. His actions were determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.9, 1.15, 1.16, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 8.1 and 8.4(a), (c) and (d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court censured Dyer County attorney Matthew Wayne Willis on March 30. While representing a client before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, the court says Willis used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to aid him in preparation of a reply brief. The court found that more than 70% of the citations were fictitious, and Willis took no action to check the accuracy of the citations. Willis stated that he believed a paralegal in his office performed a full citation check including verifying references to the technical record, transcript and legal authorities. But the court found that he failed to verify his paralegal checked the citations before filing the brief. His actions were found to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 5.3 and 8.4.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on March 31 censured Green County lawyer Catherine Elizabeth Fezell. On May 14, 2024, Fezell was scheduled to appear for a court docket to represent clients in multiple matters. When she failed to appear, she was contacted by court personnel inquiring about her whereabouts. Upon arrival at court, Fezell was observed by multiple witnesses, including court staff and colleagues, to appear to be under the influence. Due to her apparent condition, she could not appear before the court, and the scheduled hearings had to be reset. The Board of Professional Responsibility found that Fezell violated Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3 and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court on March 25 suspended 20 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee, nine 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. Lawyers reinstated in the last month include three who were suspended in 2025. TBA has administrative suspensions dating back to 2005. Be sure to check the Board of Professional Responsibility's website for the most up to date information on lawyers' licenses.

Campbell County lawyer J. Stephen Hurst was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court on March 25 for violating Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 3.3 and 8.4(d) while representing a client in a property boundary action. During the representation, the court found that Hurst improperly negotiated and settled the pending action without his client’s knowledge or authorization and failed to inform the court that his client had not approved the settlement.

Shelby County lawyer Kenneth Michael Margolis was censured on March 24 after the Tennessee Supreme Court found that he violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5(c), 7.1 and 8.4(a). The court found that Margolis mistakenly took the word of his co-counsel that an existing shared client wanted both of them to handle a new matter. He did not verify that arrangement with the client, who in fact, had intended to hire only the lawyer with whom he was speaking. In addition, during this new representation, there was no written fee agreement executed, an existing medical authorization was used without the client’s authorization, and Margolis, along with co-counsel, improperly attempted to collect a contingency fee from the client.

On March 23, the Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Carter County lawyer Jason Lee Holly from the practice of law after finding that he failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility on two misconduct complaints. Holly is precluded immediately from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by April 22. The suspension remains in effect until dissolution or modification by the court.