DISABILITY INACTIVE

By order of the Tennessee Supreme Court, the law licenses of the following lawyers were transferred to disability inactive status. They may not practice law while on inactive status but may seek reinstatement by the court upon showing that the disability has been removed.

• Davidson County lawyer Bert Livingston Denton, July 12

• Blount County lawyer Jacob Edward Erwin, July 12

• Gibson County lawyer Troy Daniel Garrison, July 12

• Arizona attorney David Martin Macaione, July 29

• Kentucky lawyer Michael Brandon Meador, June 13

REINSTATED

The following lawyers were reinstated to the practice of law after having been on inactive status:

• Florida lawyer Melissa Ellen Dembicer, June 13

• Indiana lawyer Donna R. T. Goodman, July 18

• Davidson County lawyer Kristin Hazelwood Huber, June 27

• Georgia lawyer James Darren McWilliams, July 19

Davidson County lawyer Stephanie Derrick Gray was reinstated to the practice of law on July 13. Gray had been placed on disability inactive status in June 2014. She filed a petition for reinstatement on June 1. The Board of Professional Responsibility noted that it had no objection to the reinstatement.

White County lawyer Stephanie Branam Johnson was reinstated to the practice of law on July 8. She had been suspended on June 13 for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility regarding complaints of misconduct. The board reported to the court that Johnson provided a response that was deemed sufficient for dissolution of the suspension.

DENIAL OF PETITIONS

The Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed a petition for reinstatement filed by Florida attorney David Brian Wilford on July 8. After receiving the petition, the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility reported to the court that Wilford had paid outstanding professional privilege taxes but remained noncompliant with continuing legal education requirements. The court sent two letters to Wilford advising him of the CLE requirements, and that his petition would be dismissed if he did not respond by July 5. The court reports Wilford did not respond by the deadline.

REFERRAL TO BPR

Former Roane County lawyer Kent Lowery Booher was convicted in April 2021 of criminal conduct constituting a serious crime: two counts of coercion and enticement and one count of sex trafficking of children by force, fraud or coercion; sexual exploitation of children; and penalties for registered sex offenders. Because Booher was disbarred in January 2015 (based on a conviction for statutory rape), the Tennessee Supreme Court found that immediate suspension was not necessary. It referred the case to the Board of Professional Responsibility on July 22 for a determination of final discipline.

On July 7, the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected a recommendation for discipline as too lenient. The Board of Professional Responsibility had recommended that Sevierville lawyer James Ralph Hickman Jr. be suspended for one year, with “no less than 90 days” to be served on active suspension and the remainder on conditional probation. The court said it was concerned that the punishment was too lenient and “not comparable to the punishment imposed in similar cases.” It also expressed concern about the indefinite language used to define the period of active suspension. The court referred the matter back to the board for reconsideration.

On May 18, the Tennessee Supreme Court referred the case against Madison lawyer Angela Joy Hopson to the Board of Professional Responsibility for “whatever actions the Board may deem warranted.” The court took the action after receiving notice that Hopson pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and theft of property. She received judicial diversion in both cases.

DISCIPLINARY
Disbarred

The Tennessee Supreme Court permanently disbarred Sullivan County attorney Jason R. McLellan from the practice of law on July 6. The court found that McLellan misappropriated estate funds in the representation of a client and attempted to conceal the misappropriation. He also made misrepresentations to a court; engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation; failed to abide by a client’s decision regarding the dismissal of a pending lawsuit; failed to reasonably consult with a client about the means by which the client’s objectives were to be accomplished; and failed to obtain the client’s informed consent before taking action. He also allowed a third person to direct his professional judgment and failed to keep client information confidential, withdraw after a conflict of interest developed, comply with ethical requirements after discharge from representation and comply with the requirements of a suspended attorney. Finally, he failed to comply with court orders or respond to disciplinary complaints.

Philip Joseph Perez was permanently disbarred from the practice of law by the Tennessee Supreme Court on June 20. The court found that Perez received retainer fees but failed to provide services, file complaints, appear for scheduled hearings and motions, return unearned retainer fees and notify clients of his suspension. He also misled clients to believe their complaints had been filed. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.15, 1.16, 3.2, 3.4, 8.1 and 8.4.

Suspended

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Shelby County lawyer Glenda Ann Adams from the practice of law on June 14 after she pleaded guilty and was convicted in federal court of conspiracy to violate the travel act. She also was convicted in state court of bribery of a public servant and official misconduct. The suspension will remain in effect until further order by the court. The court referred the matter to the Board of Professional Responsibility to determine the extent of final discipline.

Dyer County lawyer Charles Samuel Kelly Jr. was suspended from the practice of law on July 22. Kelly was tried and convicted in the Criminal Circuit Court for Dyer County for felony theft, criminal conspiracy to commit theft, extortion and criminal conspiracy to commit extortion. The Tennessee Supreme Court referred the matter to the Board of Professional Responsibility for a determination of final discipline.

Shelby County lawyer Aaron Anthony Neglia was suspended from the practice of law on June 9. The Tennessee Supreme Court took the action after Neglia pled guilty and was convicted in state court of bribery of a public servant, and in federal court of conspiracy to violate the travel act. The court referred the matter to the Board of Professional Responsibility to determine the extent of final discipline.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on June 6 affirmed a 30-day suspension for Davidson County attorney Candes Vonniest Prewitt. A Board of Professional Responsibility panel found that Prewitt violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.7, 1.16 and 8.4(a) in her handling of a personal injury case for a client with whom she had a romantic relationship. The board recommended that the court impose a 30-day suspension, 10 extra hours of continuing education in ethics and supervision by a practice monitor for six months after reinstatement. On appeal, the Davidson County Chancery Court and the Supreme Court affirmed the panel’s decision. The high court ruled that the recommended discipline was supported by substantial and material evidence and was neither arbitrary nor an abuse of discretion. It also noted that though Prewitt complained of a hearing panel’s alleged conflict of interest, she waived the issue during the proceedings.

Censured

Montgomery County lawyer Stanley Douglas Darnell was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court on June 17. Darnell failed to provide sufficient oversight of his legal assistant, who prepared a forged final decree and letter without Darnell’s knowledge. He also did not have protocols in place sufficient to reveal that the client’s divorce petition hadn’t been filed. Additionally, Darnell received a flat fee for the representation and failed to place the unearned funds in his trust account.

The Tennessee Supreme Court censured Robertson County lawyer Travis Randall Duffer on June 16 for failure to complete a client’s case. The court found that Duffer left the employment of a law firm in December 2020 and took some clients with him. For three clients, Duffer failed to respond to requests for information and failed to complete the matters for which he was hired. The court also determined that Duffer falsely stated to the Board of Law Examiners that the representations had been “completed.” His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.16, 8.1 and 8.4(d). The court also directed Duffer to refund his former client $900 within 90 days.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on July 3 issued a censure to Johnson County lawyer Harvey Randolph Fallin. The court reports that Fallin represented a man charged with first degree murder while also representing the man’s wife, who was charged with conspiracy to commit the same murder. Fallin did not have a written fee agreement with the clients, and did not discuss with them the potential conflict of interest in that arrangement. The court found there was a significant risk that Fallin’s representation of the wife would be materially limited by representation of the husband. In addition, Fallin asked his non-attorney daughter to act as the legal representative under a power of attorney for the two clients. In that capacity, the daughter made at least one payment to Fallin for legal expenses. At no time did Fallin discuss his daughter’s involvement with his clients. The court found these actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.7(c)(2), 1.8(a) and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court censured attorney Brette Baldini Healy on July 14. Healy was employed as an in-house attorney in Georgia for seven years while her Tennessee law license was administratively suspended. During this time, Healy was not licensed in any other jurisdiction. The court found that her work in Georgia  violated Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5, which prohibits the unauthorized practice of law.

Madison County lawyer Marcus Allen Lipham was censured on July 25 by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The court conditioned the censure on the payment of fees to the Board of Professional Responsibility. The court found that Lipham agreed to represent a client in pursuing claims against a homeowner’s association board but his fee agreement did not adequately specify the scope of representation. Lipham also failed to deposit the client’s unearned fee into his trust account. Later, he failed to timely investigate the merits of the claims, respond promptly to requests for information and notify the client that he was declining to file suit. Lipham entered a conditional guilty plea admitting his conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5(b) and 1.15.

Knox County lawyer Keith Allen Pope received a censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on July 5. The court found that Pope engaged in criminal conduct, violated his bond conditions and pled guilty to violating an order of protection. The censure is conditioned on Pope complying with a Tennessee Lawyer Assistance Program monitoring agreement with mandatory reporting to the Board of Professional Responsibility disciplinary counsel every six months.

The Tennessee Supreme Court imposed a censure to Rutherford County lawyer Jimmy Leo Richardson on July 13. The court reports that Richardson was hired to represent a client on a car accident matter. He sent a letter of representation to the insurance company and responded to a request for information from the company, but thereafter took no action on the case. He failed to respond to four letters from the insurance company and multiple communications from his client. The court found that his actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.16, 1.3 and 1.4.

Board of Judicial Conduct

The Board of Judicial Conduct suspended 13th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Lee Young for 30 days on July 26. The board found that Young made improper comments about an opioid case and although the comments were made outside of court, they were serious enough to void a ruling he entered against an opioid company. The board also cited comments Young made to a woman in an adoption case filed in his court. In that case, the board found that Young requested explicit photos of the woman and met her multiple times outside of court, including at a hotel. He also gave the woman advice on an unrelated custody matter in another court, including how to get the judge disqualified. Young’s term expires Aug. 31. He has already lost a primary bid for reelection. The board notes that Young had previously been reprimanded in 2020 for sending inappropriate messages to women on social media platforms.

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. |||