The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday suspended 14 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; 10 of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the May 25 fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended for fee and IOLTA violations in 2022 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

Knox County lawyer Mark Steven Graham was summarily suspended from the practice of law today. The Tennessee Supreme Court took the action after finding that Graham was in substantial noncompliance with his Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement. Graham previously was reinstated with the condition that he enter into and comply with a monitoring agreement. He is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and he must cease representing existing clients. The suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court.

Shelby County lawyer Brett B. Stein received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday. The court found that Stein violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4 and 5.1. Stein was hired to file a petition for habeas corpus relief in federal court in Mississippi — a court in which he was not admitted to practice. He also failed to adequately supervise a junior attorney’s preparation of the petition and an accompanying motion for pro hac vice admission. The motion for admission was denied for failure to comply with court requirements, but Stein did not inform the client of this development, which caused the client to suffer potential harm.

Hawkins County lawyer John Stephen Anderson was reinstated to the practice today. He had been suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court in December 2015 for six years. Anderson petitioned for reinstatement in October 2021. The court found that he had complied with the terms and conditions of his suspension but directed him to engage a practice monitor for two years, enroll in the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program to undergo an evaluation and comply with any recommended monitoring agreement, and complete three additional hours of CLE on ethics and professionalism during 2022.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently rejected a petition to dismiss a suspension from Connie Lynn Reguli. On April 22, the court suspended Reguli based on her conviction of certain criminal offenses. A few days later, Reguli petitioned the court to dissolve the suspension arguing that errors occurred during the criminal proceeding that call her conviction into question. She also argued that summary suspension of her license deprived her of due process. The Board of Professional Responsibility recommended that the court reject the petition saying the appeals court, not the disciplinary process, is the appropriate place to resolve the issues raised by Reguli. The court agreed and dismissed the petition on May 2.

The Tennessee Supreme Court censured Hawkins County lawyer Gerald Todd Eidson today after finding that he violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 and 1.3. After being appointed to represent a client in juvenile court on a dependency and neglect matter, Eidson failed to speak to the client until the day before the adjudicatory hearing. This was despite the client leaving multiple messages to speak to Eidson. The court also found that Eidson failed to seek a continuance until he was in court and then had to withdraw the request when other parties objected. The court determined that the client suffered potential harm.

Davidson County lawyer Katherine Elizabeth Curlee Hamblen was reinstated to the practice of law today after being placed on inactive status more than five years ago. The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Hamblen effective April 27.

Davidson County lawyer Charles Martin Duke was suspended today from the practice of law for three years, with one year to be served on active suspension. The Tennessee Supreme Court also directed him to engage a practice monitor. The court found that while representing a client in a personal injury case, Duke failed to file an action within the statute of limitations and falsified a tolling agreement in an effort to mislead his client. Duke entered a conditional guilty plea acknowledging that his conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a), 3.1, 3.3(a)(1), 3.4(b), 4.1(a), and 8.4(a), (b), (c) and (d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday reinstated John Louis Dolan Jr. to the active practice of law conditioned upon engagement of a practice monitor. Dolan filed for reinstatement on April 26. The Board of Professional Responsibility found his petition satisfactory and submitted an Order of Reinstatement to the high court. 

Davidson County lawyer Tyree Bryson Harris IV was suspended from the practice of law today for one year. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that Harris violated Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c) by engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. The court determined that while testifying under oath in a juvenile court proceeding for modification of his child support obligation, Harris concealed his current level of income, which was detrimental to his minor child and her mother. Read a release from the court on the case.