Knox County attorney John Kenneth Hoffmeister was reinstated to the practice of law today after being on inactive status since May 24, 2018. Hoffmeister petitioned the Tennessee Supreme Court for reinstatement and the Board of Professional Responsibility found that reinstatement would be appropriate. The court made his reinstatement effective as of Dec. 8.

Alabama lawyer Larry Wayne Brantley was censured on Friday by the Tennessee Supreme Court in response to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office publicly reprimanding him and placing him on probation for 36 months with conditions. On Oct. 25, the court directed Brantley to respond to a notice of reciprocal discipline and provide any reason why the same discipline should not be imposed in Tennessee. The court reports that Brantley did not provide a response.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today denied a petition from Williamson County lawyer Connie Lynn Reguli for “immediate relief of reversal” of a Nov. 20 order temporarily suspending her law license. The court did grant Reguli’s request for an evidentiary hearing and stated that she can present “applied constitutional challenges” to the order at that time.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today suspended Hamilton County lawyer John Scott Wesson from the practice of law for seven years and ordered him to contact the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP). The hearing panel found that Wesson failed to respond to a summary judgment motion, respond to opponent’s application to the court for attorney’s fees, reasonably communicate with clients, represent his clients, inform his clients of his previous suspension, make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation, and appear at multiple show cause hearings. The court found that he also knowingly terminated and/or refused to comply with his TLAP monitoring agreement. The panel found Wesson violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 (diligence), 1.4 (communication), 3.2 (expediting litigation), 3.4(c) (fairness to opposing party and counsel) and 8.4(a)(d)(g) (misconduct).

The Tennessee Supreme Court today granted a motion to file a notice and petition for evaluation or examination under seal in regards to Davidson County attorney Alex Fletcher Thompson. The court is also directing Thompson to contact the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) for an evaluation within 10 days to determine if he is capable of practicing law and defending himself on a pending request for conditional admission.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday dismissed a petition for reinstatement filed by Elizabethton lawyer Amy D. Williams. On Sept. 5, Williams filed a petition seeking reinstatement. The Board of Professional Responsibility informed her that she had outstanding obligations and was not in good standing with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education. On Oct. 2, the court filed an order advising Williams to satisfy outstanding obligations by Nov. 17 or her petition would be dismissed without prejudice. The court now reports that Williams did not satisfy her obligations by the deadline.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday reinstated the Tennessee law license of Maryland attorney Seoyoung Kim. The court took the step after Kim filed a reinstatement petition. Kim had been placed on inactive status on Oct. 20, 2017. The Board of Professional Responsibility informed the court that the petition was satisfactory. The court made the reinstatement retroactive to Oct. 30.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended 25 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; 14 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 2023 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily suspended Connie Lynn Reguli from the practice of law after finding that she posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. Reguli is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and is prohibited from holding herself out as an attorney, using any indicia of lawyer, legal assistant or law clerk, or maintaining a presence where the practice of law is conducted.

The state Supreme Court reinstated the license of Davidson County attorney Lauren Suzanne Wachsman today, retroactive to Nov. 9. Wachsman was placed on inactive status more than five years ago on May 21, 2018.