REINSTATED

Knox County attorney John Kenneth Hoffmeister was reinstated to the practice of law on Dec. 8, 2023, after being on inactive status since May 24, 2018. Hoffmeister petitioned the Tennessee Supreme Court for reinstatement and the Board of Professional Responsibility found that reinstatement would be appropriate.

REINSTATEMENT PETITION DISMISSED

On Dec. 19, 2023, the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected a reinstatement petition filed by Weakley County lawyer Thomas Allen Tansil, who was suspended by the court on Sept. 1, 2022, for five years, with one year to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation subject to conditions. After consideration of the reinstatement, the Board of Professional Responsibility recommended that the court dismiss the petition with prejudice and assess the costs of the disciplinary proceeding to Tansil. The court adopted the board’s recommendation.

INACTIVE STATUS

Williamson County lawyer Jay Nelson Chamness filed a petition for reinstatement to active status on Nov. 7, 2023. On Dec. 5, 2023, the Board of Professional Responsibility recommended that the court remove his disability status but leave his license on inactive status until he resolves an outstanding disciplinary complaint. The court adopted the board’s recommendation on Dec. 8, 2023. The court also issued an order allowing Chamness to file documents in his case under seal.

DISABILITY INACTIVE

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Feb. 2 transferred the law licenses of three attorneys to disability inactive status:

   • Hamilton County lawyer Jeffrey D. Boehm
   • Williamson County lawyer William Howard Knapp
   • Hamilton County lawyer Carol Anne Mutter

DISCIPLINARY
Disbarred

Jackson attorney Angela Joy Hopson was permanently disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court today and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $35,234 to eight individuals as well as the costs of the disciplinary proceeding. The court took the action after Hopson was found to have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for misappropriating client money, failing to appear, misleading clients, failing to notify clients of the status of cases, failing to communicate with clients, failing to prosecute cases diligently, charging an unreasonable fee, failing to refund unearned fees, engaging in the unauthorized practice of law while suspended, and failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility. Hopson previously had been temporarily suspended for failing to respond to the board regarding an unrelated complaint. The court dissolved that suspension.

Knox County lawyer Thomas Fleming Mabry was disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 25. The court found that Mabry failed to properly notify the IRS in advance of a foreclosure, failed to timely notify clients of a suspension, engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, charged his client an unreasonable fee, failed to promptly refund unearned fees and prepaid expenses, failed to account for prepaid expenses, failed to promptly furnish a client file to new counsel, failed to promptly withdraw from representation, made material misrepresentations to his client, misappropriated third-party funds, and improperly held himself out as authorized to practice law in North Carolina. These actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.16, 5.5(a) and 8.4(a), (b), (c) and (g).

Suspended

Effective Jan. 18, the Supreme Court of Tennessee suspended Knox County lawyer Matthew David Barocas from the practice of law for one year, with three months to be served on active suspension and the remainder to be served on probation. The suspension is conditioned on Barocas incurring no new complaints of misconduct related to this suspension during the year, engagement of a practice monitor, completion of the Board of Professional Responsibility’s Trust Account Workshop and additional continuing legal education hours, and payment of disciplinary costs. Barocas agreed to a conditional guilty plea, acknowledging his conduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.5(e), 1.15(a), (d) and (e), 3.3(a), 3.4(b), 3.5(e) and 8.4(a)-(d) and (g).

Davidson County lawyer Wendell Cornelius Dawson was suspended from the practice of law for three years on Jan. 26, with three months to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The Tennessee Supreme Court conditioned the suspension on Dawson incurring no new complaints of misconduct related to the discipline, additional continuing legal education, engagement of a practice monitor and payment of costs in the amount of $6,265. The court found that Dawson failed to communicate with clients adequately about the status of their cases, move his clients’ cases forward diligently and expeditiously, respond to requests for evidence from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and represent his clients competently. These actions were determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 3.2 and 8.4(a).

On Jan. 22, the Supreme Court of Tennessee suspended Shelby County attorney Robert Harris Golder from the practice of law for four years, with one year to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. Complaints against Golder included allegations that he failed to communicate reasonably with his clients, failed to perform work necessary to the representation, failed to provide competent representation, disclosed confidential information during withdrawal, charged an unreasonable fee, failed to comply with multiple court orders and failed to expedite litigation. Golder executed a conditional guilty plea acknowledging his conduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.16, 3.2, 3.4 and 8.4.

Davidson County attorney James Daniel Marshall was issued an order of temporary suspension by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 18 after the court found that he failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility concerning a misconduct complaint.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 3 suspended Davidson County lawyer Kevin William Teets Jr. from the practice of law for four years, with 15 months to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The court conditioned probation on (1) participating in a TLAP monitoring agreement and treatment and recovery plan, (2) practicing only in a group setting with a practice monitor for 12 months, (3) paying disciplinary costs and (4) paying $55,157.50 in restitution to eight victims. The court noted that the discipline involved nine matters, including failing to provide competent representation, act with reasonable diligence, respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility, comply with a court order, withdraw from representation after suspension, and refund unearned fees. Teets also was found to have charged unreasonable fees, engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, and engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. These actions violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5(a), 1.16(a)(1), 5.5(a), 7.1(a), 8.1(b), 8.4(c), 8.4(d) and 8.4(g). The court also granted a request to allow certain case documents to be filed under seal.

Davidson County lawyer Alex Fletcher Thompson was temporarily suspended from the practice of law on Jan. 26. The Tennessee Supreme Court took the action after finding that Thompson failed to comply with its order entered on Nov. 28, 2023. The court also granted a motion to file documents in the case under seal.

Censured

Davidson County lawyer Samuel Calvin Blink received a public censure on Jan. 2 from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Blink represented a corporate client in filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition and filed the petition for bankruptcy but did not timely file the required schedules. Neither Blink nor the client appeared at the initial meeting of creditors despite notice. The court entered an order directing the required schedules to be filed but the schedules were not timely filed. Blink then filed a motion for his law partner’s pro hac vice admission, but the motion did not comply with the requirements of the court. After a show cause hearing, Blink was sanctioned by the bankruptcy court for this conduct.

Alabama lawyer Larry Wayne Brantley was censured on Dec. 8, 2023, by the Tennessee Supreme Court in response to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office publicly reprimanding him and placing him on probation for 36 months with conditions. On Oct. 25, the court directed Brantley to respond to a notice of reciprocal discipline and provide any reason why the same discipline should not be imposed in Tennessee. The court reports that Brantley did not provide a response.

Knox County lawyer Mark Steven Graham received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 30. The court noted that while his law license was suspended, Graham filed a pro se lawsuit and identified himself in the pleading as a “lawyer” and “member of the Bar of the State of Tennessee.” Graham also signed the pleading by using the term “Esq.” and included his Board of Professional Responsibility licensure number and a designation that he was filing pro se. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 7.1, 3.4 and 8.4(g).

On Jan. 9, Henry County attorney Rebecca Carole Griffey received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Griffey filed an application for a chancellor position on May 29, 2019, with the Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission. The court found that she knowingly failed to disclose information responsive to questions on the application. Her actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 8.2(a)(3), 8.2(b) and 8.4(c) and (d).

Rutherford County lawyer Jerry Baxter Jackson III received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 26. The court found that in one case, Jackson failed to timely file an amended parenting plan as ordered by the court, take action to extend the deadline with the court and attend the court’s next scheduled hearing. In another client matter, Jackson failed to respond to a motion for summary judgment on behalf of his client and failed to explain the effect of the motion to the client. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 3.4 and 8.4(d).

Davidson County lawyer Dana L. Nero was censured on Jan. 8 for failing to notify a client that she had been suspended. The Tennessee Supreme Court says that Nero was temporarily suspended from the practice of law on Oct. 7, 2022, and while suspended represented a client in Davidson County Criminal Court. The court also found that Nero failed to give the client any papers or other property they were entitled to receive. Her actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 3.4(c) and 8.4(g).

Sullivan County lawyer Charles Brandon Sproles received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 26. Sproles represented a grandmother in successfully seeking child support for the grandchild of whom she had legal custody. But he delayed more than eight months in entering an order setting the child support despite multiple requests from the client. In the intervening eight months, the grandmother received some of the owed funds by opening a case with the local state child support office on her own. The court found Sproles’ actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 3.4 and 8.4(d). The court also conditioned the censure on Sproles paying the client restitution in the amount of $1,572 within 90 days.

Davidson County lawyer Joseph Paul Weyant received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 26. Weyant was hired to file a petition to probate a client’s late fiancé’s estate. At the time the fiancé died, the fiancé was a beneficiary of his mother’s estate, and it was anticipated that he would receive a distribution from that estate. Weyant filed the petition but then filed a motion to close the estate prior to a distribution. Weyant then terminated representation of the client. The client hired another attorney to reopen the late fiancé’s estate and paid that attorney $3,102. The court found that Weyant’s action violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4 and 8.4(d). The court also conditioned the censure on the payment of $3,102 in restitution to the client within 90 days.

Hamilton County lawyer Charles Gammons Wright Jr. received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 5. Wright agreed to represent his client in pursuing a civil claim but delayed in taking action in the matter and failed to pursue his client’s legal objectives. Additionally, Wright failed to communicate with his client throughout the representation. The court found that Wright violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 3.2 and 8.4(d).

Board of Judicial Conduct

On Feb. 8, the Board of Judicial Conduct issued a public reprimand to Shelby County General Sessions Judge Bill Anderson Jr. The reprimand addresses two matters, the first that Anderson raised his voice and was sarcastic to a Memphis police sergeant who appeared in court for a bond hearing at the judge's request. The board pointed out that "a party who is the subject of overly harsh or intemperate words may reasonably perceive that the judge is biased." The second matter concerned Anderson's statements made in a September Shelby County Commission meeting during which he stated that he "detest[s] the bail bond system in Shelby County. I detest it across the state." The board expressed concern that the statements could "undermine public perception and confidence" that a judge would approach cases "fairly and impartially, as well as undermine public confidence in the judiciary." The court noted that Anderson cooperated with its review and took full responsibility for his actions.

On Dec. 14, 2023, the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct issued an order of interim suspension for Shelby County Criminal Court Judge A. Melissa Boyd. While suspended, Boyd is prohibited from exercising any judicial power or authority. This suspension will remain effective until further order from the court.

The Board of Judicial Conduct issued a public reprimand for Rutherford County Judge Toby Gilley on Jan. 4. The board found that Gilley violated Rule of Judicial Conduct 2.9(C) when he used an online calculator to determine the value of property at issue in a case before him, and used the information to question a witness. The rule prohibits judges from independently investigating facts. The board noted that Gilley accepted the reprimand, took full responsibility and acknowledged that resorting to extrajudicial information is inconsistent with the proper role of a judge.

Administrative Suspensions

Notice of attorneys suspended for, and reinstated from, administrative violations – including failure to pay the Board of Professional Responsibility licensing and inactive fees, file the required IOLTA report, comply with continuing legal education requirements, and pay the Tennessee professional privilege tax – is on the TBA website at www.tba.org/administrative_suspensions. |||