The law license of Knox County lawyer Lawrence McLean House was transferred to disability inactive status today by the Tennessee Supreme Court. House may not practice law while on inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after showing that his disability has been removed and he is reinstated.

Two lawyers recently were reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee. Le’dell Sanders Joiner, who is active in the U.S. Army, was reinstated on June 4, retroactive to March 8, 2016, after being summarily suspended on Dec. 3, 2010. North Carolina lawyer Aaron Alexander Smith was reinstated on June 23, retroactive to June 1, after being placed on inactive status on Aug. 11, 2015.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 10 attorneys Wednesday 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 June 23 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 Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday transferred the law license of Matilda Ann Batson to disability inactive status. Batson cannot practice law while on disability inactive status, but may be reinstated by the Supreme Court after showing her disability has been removed.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday suspended Davidson County Lawyer Michael Lloyd Freeman for three years, with three months of active suspension and the remainder on probation. Freeman failed to file an appropriate complaint in a contested divorce action resulting in the dismissal of the divorce for failure to prosecute, failed to reasonably communicate with his client and expedite his litigation, failed to review his client’s file and respond to a pending motion for summary judgment and failed to file an executed marital dissolution agreement and take appropriate action to confirm its filing with the court. He must pay the Board of Professional Responsibility for all costs of the disciplinary proceedings and restitution in the amount of $750.

A number of lawyers were recently reinstated after being suspended for administrative violations. They include nine suspended for CLE violations (one in 1994, one in 2016, one in 2018 and six in 2020); 17 suspended for professional tax non-payment (one in 2010, three in 2020 and 13 in 2021); and 13 suspended for non-payment of fees and/or failure to file the required IOLTA report (one in 2012, one in 2013, two in 2018, one in 2019, three in 2020 and five in 2021). View all administrative suspensions and reinstatement lists here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today suspended Sumner County lawyer John T. Harding from the practice of law for one year, with 30 days being on active suspension and the remainder served on probation. Harding executed a conditional guilty plea to the Board of Professional Responsibility’s filing that he failed to reasonably communicate with his client regarding the status of a case and failed to act in a diligent manner and expedite the client’s litigation. He must pay fees to the BPR and comply with the Supreme Court’s rules for suspended attorneys and the procedure for reinstatement.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday suspended Davidson County lawyer Karl Emmanuel Pulley from the practice of law for one year, with 30 days to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation so long as he engages a practice monitor. The court took the action based on four complaints. Pulley executed a conditional guilty plea acknowledging he failed to reasonably communicate with clients regarding their cases; failed to act in a diligent manner and expedite clients’ litigation; failed to timely respond to discovery requests; charged a non-refundable fee without the client executing a written fee agreement; accepted client referrals from a non-registered intermediary organization; and failed to take reasonable steps to protect a client’s interest after terminating representation. Pulley’s actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 3.4(d), 1.16, 7.6 and 8.4(a).

Shelby County lawyer Paul James Springer was permanently disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday. The court also ordered him to pay restitution of $6,247.34 to a client and close his law firm IOLTA account. The court found that Springer misappropriated settlement funds belonging to his client, made material misrepresentations to his client, failed to reasonably communicate with his client, knowingly failed to comply with a court order, engaged in criminal conduct, and engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, deceit, misrepresentations and fraud. His actions were found to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.15, 8.1(b) and 8.4(a), (b), (c) and (g).

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday asked the Board of Professional Responsibility to review the case of Mohamad Akbik to determine what, if any, action is warranted. Akbik agreed to a pre-trial intervention in the state of Florida in December 2020. The court stated that because pre-trial intervention agreements in Florida are akin to judicial diversion in Tennessee, Akbik is not subject to immediate summary suspension.