Williamson County lawyer Kathryn Goff Brinton was reinstated to the practice of law effective on March 7. She had been placed on inactive status in November 2006. The Board of Professional Responsibility reports that it found the reinstatement petition to be satisfactory. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued the order on March 22.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 22 attorneys last week for failure to pay the annual registration fee. Eight of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the March 28 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.

By order of the Tennessee Supreme Court, the law license of Hamilton County lawyer William Robert Heck was transferred to disability inactive status today. Heck may not practice law while on inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the court upon showing that his disability has been removed.

Knox County lawyer Brian Chadwick Rickman was suspended from the practice of law for one year by the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday. The court took the action after finding that during litigation of a contentious child custody matter, Rickman “intentionally and knowingly engaged in abusive and obstreperous conduct intended to disrupt the proceedings of the tribunal and continued this unethical behavior despite multiple warnings from the court.” The court also found that Rickman made statements in open court and in pleadings that were knowingly false or made with reckless disregard to the truth, impugning the integrity and reputation of the presiding judge. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 3.5(e), 8.2(a)(1) and 8.4(a) and (d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday suspended Shelby County lawyer John Louis Dolan from the practice of law for one year, with 30 days on active suspension and 11 months on probation under supervision of a practice monitor. The Board of Professional Responsibility found that Dolan failed to reasonably respond to his client’s request for information about the status of his criminal case and failed to diligently represent his client over a period of approximately two years. In a second matter, the board found that Dolan failed to properly communicate with his client and failed to submit various pleadings.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today suspended John Ryan Poole from the practice of law for six years, with four on active suspension and the remaining two years served on probation upon the appointment of a practice monitor. The Board of Professional Responsibility filed seven complaints alleging Poole failed to reasonably communicate with his clients regarding the status of their case, failed to act in a diligent manner and expedite the clients’ litigation, failed to comply with court orders, failed to protect client funds, failed to provide proper notice following temporary suspension and failed to reply with lawful demands for information from disciplinary counsel.

Williamson County lawyer Kathryn Goff Brinton was reinstated to the practice of law effective March 7 after being on inactive status since Nov. 15, 2006. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued the order this week after the Board of Professional Responsibility reported that Brinton’s reinstatement petition was satisfactory.

The Board of Professional Responsibility yesterday issued a public censure to Anderson County lawyer Brian Jamie Hunt. After taking military inactive status in 2012, Hunt failed to apply for reinstatement and failed to pay attorney registration fees when he returned to private practice. He practiced law while his license status was military inactive in violation of Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5 dealing with unauthorized practice.

A number of lawyers were reinstated recently after being suspended for administrative violations. Five were reinstated after completing required CLE hours: one from 2009 and four from 2021. In addition, one lawyer was reinstated after paying the 2021 professional privilege tax. Finally, 14 were reinstated after paying required fees: one who was suspended in 2015, two in 2021 and 11 in 2022. The TBA has records of all administrative suspensions and reinstatements going back to 2005. See all lists here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today ordered the law license of Charles David Deas be transferred to disability inactive status. Deas cannot practice law while on disability inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing that his disability has been removed.