DISABILITY INACTIVE

Williamson County lawyer John William Gautier was placed on disability inactive status by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 18. Gautier may not practice law while on 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.

REINSTATED

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Knox County lawyer Mark Steven Graham to the practice of law on Jan. 18. Graham had been suspended for three years, retroactive to the date of a temporary suspension imposed on March 11, 2020. At that time, the court directed that he serve one year on active suspension and the rest on probation. As a condition of reinstatement, Graham must engage a practice monitor and remain in substantial compliance with his Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program contract.
     On Jan. 14, Graham received a public censure from the court, which found that he filed a trademark application when he was suspended from the practice of law. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 5.5 and 8.4(g). A censure is a rebuke and warning, but does not affect an attorney’s ability to practice law.

The following lawyers were reinstated to the practice of law after being moved to inactive status:

• Georgia lawyer John Trent Dixon, Dec. 22, 2021
• North Carolina lawyer Hugh Stanley Harris Jr., Dec. 1, 2021
• Georgia lawyer Christina Elisabeth McCloskey, Dec. 8, 2021
• Florida lawyer Rebecca Elizabeth Reeder, Dec. 29, 2021

DENIAL OF PETITIONS

Georgia lawyer James A. Dunlap Jr. filed a petition for reinstatement in Tennessee on Feb. 26, 2021. He had been suspended from practicing in the state for one year on Feb. 7, 2020. A Board of Professional Responsibility hearing panel reviewed the petition and found that Dunlap “failed to meet his burden to show by clear and convincing evidence he was fit to practice law in Tennessee.” The panel recommended dismissing the petition, which the Tennessee Supreme Court did on Jan. 20.

DISCIPLINARY
Disbarred

Mississippi lawyer Richard Louis Reynolds was permanently disbarred from the practice of law in Tennessee on Dec. 16, 2021. He had been disbarred by the Supreme Court of Mississippi on Sept. 23, 2021. After receiving notification of the suspension, the Tennessee Supreme Court asked Reynolds to show why the same discipline should not also be imposed in Tennessee. The court reports that Reynolds did not respond. According to the Mississippi court order, Reynolds pled guilty to a felony on Dec. 15, 2020, in a Texas federal court.

Suspended

Roane County lawyer Melanie A. Campbell-Brown was suspended from the practice of law on Jan. 10. She will spend 60 days on active suspension and the rest on probation so long as she does not incur new complaints of misconduct during the probationary period. One complaint was filed against Campbell-Brown on Nov. 12, 2020. At the time, she entered a conditional guilty plea admitting she accepted a fee to represent a client in a quiet title action but misled her client regarding the filing the complaint. Specifically, she failed to (1) file the claim, (2) provide legal services in a diligent manner, (3) expedite her client’s litigation and (4) reasonably communicate with her client regarding the status of the case. Her actions were determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, and 8.4(a), (c) and (d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Hamblen County lawyer Alan C. Lee from the practice of law for three years on Jan. 25. The court found that Lee knowingly failed to timely comply with an injunction issued by a U.S. district court and misrepresented to the court that he was unaware of the order. Lee entered a conditional guilty plea acknowledging he violated Rules of Professional Conduct 3.3, 3.4 and 8.4(a), (b) and (c).

On Jan. 5, the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Davidson County lawyer Alex Fletcher Thompson from the practice of law after finding that he was in substantial non-compliance with his Tennessee Lawyer’s Assistance Program monitoring agreement. Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 12.3 provides for immediate summary suspension of an attorney’s license in such cases. The suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court, though Thompson may for good cause request such actions. Also on Jan. 5, the court granted the Board of Professional Responsibility’s motion to file the suspension petition in this case under seal.

Knox County lawyer Melvin Jacob Werner was suspended from the practice of law on Dec. 3, 2021, after the Tennessee Supreme Court found that he misappropriated funds and posed a threat of substantial harm to the public. The suspension will remain in effect until modified or dissolved by the court.

Censured

Davidson County lawyer Melissa June Anderson was censured Dec. 22, 2021, by the Tennessee Supreme Court after the court found that she failed to create and maintain appropriate trust account bookkeeping protocols for her law office, breaching her managerial obligation to ensure that her office acted in compliance with ethics rules. As a result of this conduct, a check drawn on the firm’s trust account was returned for insufficient funds. Anderson’s actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 and 5.1.

Lawrence County lawyer Thomas Joseph Dancison Jr. received a censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 30, 2021. The court found that Dancison, while representing a client in a domestic matter, created a conflict of interest by engaging in sexualized conversation and conduct. Dancison pled guilty to simple assault pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-101(a)(3) for intentional or knowing physical contact with a client that a reasonable person would consider “extremely offensive or provocative.” The court determined that his actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.7 and 8.4.

Knox County lawyer Daniel Clyde Fielden II was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 10. The court found that while handling a divorce action, Fielden failed to (1) represent the client in a diligent manner, (2) expedite the hearing, (3) respond to the client’s termination of representation and (4) communicate with the client. These actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.16, 3.2 and 8.4(d).

Davidson County lawyer Michael Lloyd Freeman was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 10. The court found that Freeman 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. Freeman signed a conditional guilty plea admitting his conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 and 1.4.

Shelby County lawyer Darryl Wayne Humphrey was censured Jan. 5 by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The court found that after suspension from the practice of law, Humphrey filed motions to withdraw from pending cases in which he falsely stated the reasons for his suspension. He also failed to set motions to withdraw for hearing and failed to accurately inform his clients of the reasons for his suspension. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.16, 3.3 and 8.4.

Davidson County lawyer Corletra Faye Mance received a censure on Jan. 18 from the Tennessee Supreme Court. The court found that Mance practiced law while her license was administratively suspended. Mance argued that she did not receive a copy of the suspension order, but the court said she had received prior notice of a deficiency with her continuing legal education hours. Her actions were found to violate Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5.

Williamson County lawyer Jason Scott Mangrum was censured Dec. 17, 2021, for violations of Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.16 and 3.2. Mangrum agreed to represent a client in pursuing two collection matters. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that he failed to
(1) take proper action and expedite litigation in the cases, (2) respond to inquiries from his client, (3) keep his client updated on the status of her cases, and (4) turn over the client file to successor counsel for more than one month.

Tennessee attorney Travis Nathaniel Meeks received a censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 11. After agreeing to represent two clients pursuing a detainer action, Meeks agreed to represent one of them in a second matter in which the other client’s interests were materially adverse. The court found that Meeks did not obtain an informed conflict waiver from either client and failed to maintain reasonable communication with one of the clients. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.4, 1.7 and 1.8.

On Jan. 13, the Tennessee Supreme Court issued a censure to McNairy County lawyer Brian Jackson Petty for creating a conflict of interest by sending text messages that were sexual in nature to his client, who he had been appointed to represent in juvenile court. The court found there was a significant risk that Petty’s personal interests materially limited his representation of the client. His actions were determined to violate Rule of Professional Conduct 1.7(a)(2).

Shelby County lawyer Christopher Lynn Taylor was censured twice in January by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The first censure was imposed on Jan. 5 after the court found that Taylor failed to respond to a motion for summary judgment and failed to timely inform his client of the motion and his own failure to respond. The court conditioned the censure on the payment of fees to the Board of Professional Responsibility. Taylor entered a conditional guilty plea admitting his conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 3.2 and 8.4(d). Then on Jan. 18, the court found that Taylor failed to withdraw from representation after a client filed a pro se motion to “disqualify” him, failed to inform the client of the court’s decision on summary judgment, and failed to represent the client on a motion for costs. These actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.16, 3.2, 3.4(c) and 8.4(d).

Board of Judicial Conduct

On Jan. 10, the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct issued a public reprimand to 19th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Ted Crozier Jr. for failing to “perform judicial and administrative duties competently, promptly and diligently” as required by Tennessee ethics rules. The reprimand came in response to a complaint involving a bench trial in a termination of parental rights and adoption case in which the judge did not issue a decision until 10 months later, and a divorce and custody matter in which the judge failed to enter a ruling on two motions. Under Tennessee law, judges should render decisions within 60 days of hearing the case “absent the most compelling reasons.” Crozier’s actions were determined to violate Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10, RJC 1.1, 1.2 and 2.5(A) and Rule 11, section III(d).

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. |||