Shelby County lawyer Kelvin Arthur Massey received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 23. The court found that while under active suspension from the practice of law, Massey engaged in unauthorized practice by providing legal advice, drafting legal documents, providing legal services, and holding out to the public that he was an attorney licensed to practice law in Tennessee. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 3.4(c), 5.5(b)(2) and 8.4(g).

Obion County attorney David Lynn Hamblen has received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Hamblen represented the mother of a child in a custody matter in which an order had been entered granting the mother supervised visitation. The parties and their counsels were discussing entering an agreed order giving the mother unsupervised visitation, but prior to any agreement on that issue, Hamblen’s client called him and said she was having a problem arranging for her visitation to be supervised on a particular day. Hamblen then instructed his client to go ahead with unsupervised visitation. Opposing counsel filed a motion for contempt, and Hamblen told opposing counsel that he had instructed his client not to comply with the existing court order, and that he knew no order had been entered relieving her of the supervised visitation. The court found that Hamblen violated Rules of Professional Conduct 3.4 and 8.4(d).

Hamilton County lawyer Jennifer Yates Stickley petitioned the Tennessee Supreme Court for reinstatement of her law license on April 5. The Board of Professional Responsibility responded to the petition, stating that Stickley has outstanding obligations with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education. On April 16, the court issued an order giving her until May 31 to complete those requirements or her petition will be dismissed.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has transferred the law license of Shelby County attorney Jack Randal Tomblin to disability inactive status. Tomblin may not practice law but may petition the court to return to the practice of law by showing his disability has been removed.

On April 10, Overton County lawyer Lynda W. Patterson received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Patterson was hired to seek damages against the former residential tenants of her client. She negotiated an agreed judgment with the tenants, prepared the order, secured signatures and mailed the document to the court. The order though was never entered by the court. Patterson’s client contacted her twice about the status of the order, but she did not respond. Fourteen months later Patterson discovered the order had not been entered and proceeded with a default judgment against the former tenants. The court found that her actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 3.2 and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court has publicly censured Williamson County lawyer Jay Nelson Chamness for violating Rules of Professional Conduct 4.1, 8.4(c) and 8.4(a). Chamness represented a plaintiff asserting employment discrimination in a case filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Over the course of 11 months, Chamness made at least four false statements to opposing counsel about personal circumstances for which he needed extensions of time. In the last instance, Chamness asked to reschedule depositions and for more time to draft a motion because his mother had died. She was, in fact, still alive.

The Supreme Court of Tennessee has temporarily suspended Matthew Lee Harris from the practice of law after finding that Harris was substantially non-compliant with his Tennessee Lawyer Assistance Program Monitoring Agreement. Harris is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by May 17. The suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court. The court also approved a motion to file documents in the case under seal.

Montgomery County lawyer Joel David Ragland has been suspended from the practice of law after the Tennessee Supreme Court found that he misappropriated funds for his personal use and posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. Ragland is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases, and must cease representing existing clients by May 12.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has directed Connecticut lawyer Jason Russell Buckley to respond within 30 days as to why discipline imposed in the state of Maine should not also be imposed in Tennessee. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court suspended Buckley for one year on Sept. 7, 2023, after finding that he took two online CLEs simultaneously, one on his computer and one on his iPad, and filed for credit for both. The Tennessee court says that if no response is received it will impose a discipline with identical terms and conditions.

Maury County lawyer James Thomas Dubois Jr. has been reinstated to the active practice of law today. Dubois had been on disability inactive status since Feb. 13, 2023. He filed a petition for transfer to active status on March 14. The Board of Professional Responsibility found that Dubois demonstrated he no longer suffers from a disability and the petition was satisfactory.