Davidson County lawyer Eric Donn Miller was reinstated to the practice of law on June 14. He had been on inactive status since June 26, 2012. The Tennessee Supreme Court took the action after the Board of Professional Responsibility reported that Miller’s petition for reinstatement was satisfactory.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has permanently disbarred Davidson County lawyer Robert Allen Doll III after he was convicted on three criminal charges. The decision upholds the recommendation of a Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) hearing panel and the Davidson County Chancery Court, both of which Doll had challenged. The court found that Doll, while representing a client in post-divorce proceedings, signed the client’s name to a petition and instructed the client to tell the court she had signed the document. The client testified that Doll never informed her she could be charged for lying under oath, and in fact, she was indicted on two counts of aggravated perjury. A jury convicted Doll on two counts of subornation of aggravated perjury for having his client lie under oath and one count of criminal simulation for forging the client’s signature. Read the opinion or more about the case in a release from the court or access the BPR press release.

On June 17, the Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed a petition for reinstatement from Julia Givens Williams, a lawyer in Alabama. Williams was seeking reinstatement from inactive status. Because she had been on inactive status for less than five years, the court directed her to refile the petition with the Board of Professional Responsibility.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has asked the Board of Professional Responsibility to take whatever action it deems necessary after Greene County lawyer Edward Lee Kershaw pled guilty to driving under the influence (DUI) in violation of T.C.A. 55-10-401 in the Loudon County General Sessions Court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed a petition for reinstatement from Howard Macarthur Romaine, a lawyer in North Carolina, on June 17. Romaine was seeking reinstatement from being on disability inactive status since January 2017. The Board of Professional Responsibility recommended dismissal of the petition based on Romaine’s failure to satisfy outstanding obligations with it as well as the Tennessee Department of Revenue and the Appellate Court Cost Center. On April 24, the court gave Romaine until June 10 to satisfy his outstanding obligations — which he did not do — or face dismissal of his petition.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has directed the Board of Professional Responsibility to hold a hearing and file a recommendation related to its petition to temporarily suspend Arthur C. Grisham Jr. On April 29, the court suspended Grisham for failing to respond to a complaint against him. On May 23, Grisham filed a response to the suspension. On May 31, the board filed its response. After considering the two filings, the court determined that “factual disputes warrant a hearing.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected a Board of Professional Responsibility petition for immediate suspension of Hawkins County lawyer Daniel Graham Boyd. The court took the action after a trial court granted Boyd judicial diversion. The court also directed the board to “evaluate the facts and circumstances” of the case and proceed as appropriate.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently granted a request from Knox County lawyer Mark Steven Graham for a hearing to reconsider a temporary suspension imposed on May 20 for failure to comply with a Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) monitoring agreement. The court had rejected a similar request in May, but said Graham had since “alleged sufficient facts to establish good cause” for a hearing. The court cited his willingness to execute and comply with a monitoring agreement. It directed the Board of Professional Responsibility to hold a hearing and its recommendation with the “utmost speed consistent with due process.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court has imposed a three-year suspension on Knoxville attorney Loring Justice. The decision affirmed the recommendation of a hearing panel and overturned a chancery court decision, which had imposed permanent disbarment. The court found that Justice filed various motions, which contained insulting and inflammatory statements about the judge presiding over a child custody dispute involving his minor child and the child’s mother. Justice previously was disbarred in 2019, under previous rules that did not make that discipline permanent. Read more in a release from the court.

Kentucky lawyer Katherine Anne Shepherd has been reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee after being on inactive status for more than five years. Shepherd was placed on inactive status on April 11, 2012. Her reinstatement was made effective as of June 4.