The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday transferred the law license of Maury County lawyer James Thomas DuBois Jr. to disability inactive status. DuBois may not practice law while on inactive status and must comply with the requirements of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 28. He may petition for a return to active status by showing the disability has been removed.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today dismissed a petition from Davidson County lawyer Donald W. Fisher seeking to have his licensed transferred to disability inactive status. Fisher filed the petition on Jan. 23. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported to the court on Feb. 7 that the petition could be dismissed given that Fisher died Jan. 31.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) has issued a new Formal Ethics Opinion after adopting significant comments from the TBA. In November, the TBA filed a comment with the BPR in response to the proposed opinion, which dealt with the circumstances that establish a systematic and continuous presence in Tennessee for the practice of law as in-house counsel. The BPR adopted those changes and has issued Formal Ethics Opinion 2022-F-168. Read the finalized opinion here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today disbarred Wilson County lawyer Jennifer M. Porth from the practice of law. Porth failed to file accountings for three different clients she was representing in conservatorships. Porth also represented three estates in probate matters and failed to file any accountings and failed to timely and diligently represent her clients. She misappropriated and converted funds from these estates to her own personal use, failed to abide by her clients’ wishes relative to various assets of the estates, failed to properly communicate with the clients, failed to obtain permission from the Court for attorney fees and failed to turn over client materials in a timely manner. Porth consented to disbarment because she could not successfully defend the alleged charges.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday suspended Ryan Bodiford Feeney from the practice of law for six months, with the first 30 days as active suspension and the remainder served on probation. Feeney executed a conditional guilty plea to a complaint that claimed he failed to communicate reasonably with his clients regarding prior suspensions, failed to withdraw from representation during his prior suspensions, and knowingly practiced law on multiple occasions during his prior suspensions.

Williamson County lawyer Melissa Ann Baker was suspended from the practice of law today for three years, with one year to be served on active suspension and the rest on probation. The Tennessee Supreme Court conditioned the probation on Baker engaging a practice monitor and complying with recommendations from the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program. The court imposed the discipline after finding that Baker (1) failed to file responses to two motions; (2) made material misrepresentations during oral argument; (3) failed to file responses to motions, which resulted in the dismissal of the client’s case; (4) failed to timely produce information to opposing counsel; and (5) filed inappropriate motions in juvenile court. Her conduct was determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 , 1.3, 1.4(a) and (b), 3.1, 3.2, 3.3(a)(1), 3.4(c), 4.2, 4.4(a) and 8.4 (a), (c) and (d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court has denied a motion from Elliott James Schuchardt to strike a response from the Board of Professional Responsibility in his disciplinary case. Schuchardt filed the motion on Feb. 2, arguing that the board’s response to his petition for dissolution of a temporary suspension did not comply with applicable law. In a brief filed with the motion, Schuchardt argued that the court has no legal authority to summarily dismiss a petition for dissolution of a temporary suspension and that in doing so, violated his right to due process. In denying the motion, the court stated that summary dismissal was legally appropriate given the “unusual circumstances of this case.”

Shelby County lawyer David R. Huggins received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday. The court took the action after determining that Huggins failed to take proper action in the case, failed to expedite litigation, and failed to follow court rules and orders. He also was found to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 3.2, 3.4 5.5(a) and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended 16 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; six of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the Jan. 31 fee suspension order and Jan. 31 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 Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday denied a petition for dissolution of a temporary suspension from Knox County lawyer Elliott James Schuchardt. The court found that Schuchardt had not shown good cause for dissolution of the suspension, which had been imposed on Sept. 21, 2022, after the court found that he posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. In its order dismissing the petition, the court said, “Rather than establishing good cause, the allegations of Mr. Schuchardt’s petition establish that he is continuing to engage in the same conduct that initially resulted” in suspension.