The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld a decision of the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) to deny Knoxville attorney Loring Edwin Justice’s petition seeking relief from costs associated with his disciplinary proceedings. The BPR had assessed costs and expenses of $25,403.65 following Justice’s disbarment. Justice filed a petition for relief from costs arguing that the disciplinary proceedings were unconstitutional, the wrong standard of proof was used and his Fifth Amendment privilege was violated. The BPR denied his petition, which he then appealed to the Supreme Court. The court affirmed the BPR’s decision saying the assessment was supported by substantial and material evidence. Read the opinion.

Campbell County attorney Kristie Nicole Anderson was reinstated to the practice of law on Aug. 9. She had been suspended on July 9 for one year with 30 days to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The Tennessee Supreme Court conditioned reinstatement on Anderson’s engagement of a practice monitor to meet with her monthly during the probationary period to assess her case load, timeliness of tasks, adequacy of communication with clients and accounting procedures.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday denied a petition filed by Shelby County lawyer Urura M. Mayers seeking to dissolve a temporary suspension imposed on her in November 2020. The court suspended her license for misappropriating funds and posing a threat of substantial harm to the public. On April 29, a three-member panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility held a hearing on the petition. After consideration, it determined that Mayers failed to establish good cause to dissolve the temporary suspension. The court adopted the board’s finding as its own and directed Mayers to pay $1,338.40 in court costs.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today asked the Board of Professional Responsibility to review a guilty plea entered by Knox County lawyer Keith Allen Pope to determine if any disciplinary action is warranted. Pope pled guilty to violating a protection/restraining order on June 3 in Knox County General Sessions Court. He has filed a response with the board opposing summary suspension.

Dyer County lawyer Charles Maurice Agee Jr. today received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. While representing a client in a criminal matter, Agee asked his legal assistant to contact the prosecutor for a continuance in an upcoming preliminary hearing. He did not speak directly with the prosecutor himself. Agee’s legal assistant advised him that the prosecutor had agreed to a continuance. On the morning of the preliminary hearing, Agee told the court he had spoken directly with the prosecutor by email and she had agreed to the continuance, but the prosecutor later confirmed with the judge that she had not agreed to the continuance. A public censure is a rebuke and warning to the attorney, but it does not affect the attorney’s ability to practice law.

The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Madison County lawyer Angela Joy Hopson from the practice of law today for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility concerning a complaint of misconduct. Hopson is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by Aug. 27. She must notify all clients as well as co-counsel and opposing counsel of her suspension, which will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court.

Knox County lawyer James William Friauf received a public censure today from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Friauf was retained to prosecute an employment action and a written fee agreement was executed by his client. The agreement allowed Friauf to charge an undisclosed hourly rate if he chose to withdraw from representation. During an unsuccessful mediation, Friauf used the fee agreement to pressure his client to settle his action; demanded payment of $63,261.46 in attorney fees at an hourly rate not previously agreed to; and misrepresented to his client that the Board of Professional Responsibility had ratified his demand for fees and expenses. Friauf agreed to a conditional guilty plea acknowledging his conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.5, 1.8, 7.1 and 8.4(a)

Davidson County attorney Terry Renease Clayton yesterday received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Clayton discovered that he had accidentally overpaid a client after issuing a check to himself for fees, resulting in an overdraft of the account. The client returned the overpaid funds, but Clayton delayed in removing his earned fee from trust, doing so in multiple payments over three months. He did not have a client ledger on this matter and his conduct resulted in the commingling of his funds with client funds for three months. In addition to the public censure, Clayton must also attend a Trust Account Workshop from the BPR.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 15 attorneys Wednesday for failure to pay the annual registration fee. Ten of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the July 21 fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended for fee and IOLTA violations in 2021 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

The Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday issued a public censure of Blount County attorney Jacob Edward Erwin. Erwin utilized trust account funds for fulfillment of a personal financial obligation. While no clients or third parties were harmed, Erwin’s conduct constitutes a breach of his fiduciary obligation regarding client funds and property. A public censure is a rebuke and warning to the attorney, but it does not affect the attorney’s ability to practice law.