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TBA Public Service Awards Luncheon This Saturday

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 17, 2018

The TBA's annual Public Service Luncheon will be held this Saturday at the downtown Nashville DoubleTree Hotel. The luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. and will end before 2 p.m. This year's honorees are Daniel Horwitz, who receives the Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award, Mary Michelle Gillum, who was named the Ashley Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year, and Alexa Spata, the Law Student Volunteer of the Year. A special award, the Access to Justice Champion Award, will be presented to TBA Executive Director Emeritus Allan Ramsaur, in acknowledgement of his accomplishments as a bar leader and as a leader in the access to justice community. The luncheon was originally scheduled for January, but was rescheduled due to bad weather.

Knox County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 17, 2018
Knox County lawyer Jere F. Ownby received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility on April 11. Ownby’s law license was suspended on July 7, 2017, but he continued to practice law for three business days after the suspension. In one client matter, Ownby failed to notify the court or opposing counsel of his suspension, and he failed to withdraw from the representation of his client at any time. Three months after his suspension, the court set a status conference and Ownby did not appear or provide any response to the court or opposing counsel. This conduct was deemed by the board to be prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Wilson County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 17, 2018
Wilson County attorney Todd Allen Tressler received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility on April 16. Tressler hired a real estate broker in connection with the purchase of commercial realty, but terminated the broker’s services and hired an immediate family member as successor broker after the original broker’s work was substantially completed. The closing documents and contractual agreement between Tressler and the two brokers granted the original broker the full commission at closing and provided that the division of the commission would be subsequently negotiated between the two brokers. Contrary to this agreement, Tressler refused to forward payment of the full commission to the original broker, and instead attempted to negotiate a division of the commission on behalf of the successor broker. For these actions, he was publicly censured.

Sumner County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 17, 2018
Sumner County lawyer Charles Rufus Bobbitt received a public censure on April 16 from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Bobbitt represented a client in seeking modification of a parenting plan. Bobbitt did not affix a proposed parenting plan and verified statement of income to his petition, as required by statute. The court entered an order requiring Bobbitt to correct these deficiencies. He failed to do so, which resulted in the dismissal of the petition. Additionally, Bobbitt failed to file a timely reply to opposing counsel’s counter-petition, resulting in entry of a default judgment. He also failed to maintain good communication with his client throughout the representation.

Sevier County Lawyer Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 17, 2018
Sevier County lawyer Andrew Nicholas Wilson received a public censure on April 16 from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Wilson represented a client whose case was moved from state court to federal district court. Wilson was not admitted to practice in federal district court and failed to respond to the court’s request to file a motion to appear pro hac vice, to the court’s show cause order, or to the court’s order to appear. Wilson was accordingly removed as counsel of record and reprimanded by the district court.

Loudon County Attorney Censured

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 17, 2018
Arthur Wayne Henry, a Loudon County attorney, received a public censure on April 16 from the Board of Professional Responsibility. On Sept. 21, 2017, Henry was retained to represent a client in a domestic case in which she desired to relocate with her child to another state. On Dec. 4, 2017, the client discovered that Henry had taken no action to file a petition to relocate or to answer the opposing party’s petition. Henry did refund the client’s fees after she confronted him about the inactivity on the case.

Regional Firm Names New Nashville Chief

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 16, 2018
Burr and Forman, the Alabama-based regional firm, today announced that Tucker Herndon has been named managing partner for its Nashville office, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Herndon, a partner in the firm’s lending practice group, will continue his practice in addition to serving in this new role. Herndon replaces Stephen Price, who will remain with the firm in its labor and employment group.

Services Saturday for Former Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota III

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 16, 2018
Former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota III, a legendary figure in the Tennessee legal community, died on Sunday. He was 79. Born in Kentucky and raised in Nashville, Drowota’s early adult life was spent as a member of the U.S. Navy before he returned home to attend Vanderbilt Law School. He worked in the firm of Goodpasutre, Carpenter, Woods and Sasser until 1970, when at just 31 years of age, he was appointed to the Chancery Court of Davidson County. He was later appointed to the state Court of Appeals before being elected to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1980. He is currently the second-longest serving justice in state history. (Read more on his career in this Tennessee Bar Journal article from 2005.) For his remarkable career and his innumerable contributions to the legal profession in Tennessee, the TBA created the “Justice Frank F. Drowota Outstanding Judicial Service Award” in 2006. It is given each year to a judge who demonstrates “extraordinary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, the legal system and the administration of justice,” just as Drowota did. Services will be held Saturday at 3 p.m. at Woodmont Christian Church, 3601 Hillsboro Pike, with visitation starting at 12:30 p.m.

State Prison Chief Promises Review After ‘Shocking’ Testimony

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 16, 2018
Department of Correction Commissioner Tony Parker promised lawmakers today that he would review the circumstances of the “shocking” 2013 death of an inmate, The Tennessean reports. During a hearing about the future of private prison oversight, a nurse previously employed at a state prison accused officials of covering up the alleged homicide of Elbert Thornton. The nurse said she was told to downplay the death, which documentation showed was found by a medical examiner to be “suspicious, unusual or unnatural.”

Former Tennessee Police Chief Named to U.S. Justice Department

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Apr 16, 2018
Former Knoxville police chief Phil Keith has been named to a new post in the U.S. Justice Department, the Associated Press reports. Keith, who spent 17 years as chief in Knoxville, will serve as director of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). He will be responsible for overseeing grant awards, innovative policing strategies and training and technical assistance.
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