Several attorneys licensed to practice law in Tennessee were suspended or censured by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court during June and July.
The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Everett Hoge Mechem from the practice of law pending further Orders of the Court, pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 22.3. The release states that Mechem was suspended based upon a verdict of guilty entered June 13, 2016, in United States of America v. Everett H. Mechem, Case No. 2:15-CR-71, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, for violating Title 18 United States Code Section 1343: Wire Fraud; Title 42 United States Code Section 1383a(a)(3): Supplemental Security Income Fraud; Title 18 United States Code Section 1001: False Statement; and Title 18 United States Code Section 641: Theft of Public Money.
The Supreme Court referred the matter to the BPR for the institution of formal disciplinary proceedings to determine the extent of final discipline to be imposed as a result of Mechem’s criminal conviction for serious crimes.
Mechem must comply with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 28 regarding the obligations and responsibilities of suspended attorneys.
By Order of the Tennessee Supreme Court, the law license of Ross Brent Gray was transferred to disability inactive status pursuant to Section 27.3 of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9.
Ross cannot practice law while on disability inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing of clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and he is fit to resume the practice of law.
The Supreme Court of Tennessee temporarily suspended Wendal Douglas Jackson from the practice of law upon finding that Jackson poses a substantial threat of harm to the public, pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 12.3.
The release states that Jackson is precluded from accepting any new cases and from representing existing clients upon entry of the Order dated June 17, 2016. After June 17, Jackson is not to use any indicia of lawyer, legal assistant, or law clerk nor maintain a presence where the practice of law is conducted.
Jackson must notify all clients being represented in pending matters, as well as co-counsel and opposing counsel of the Supreme Court’s Order suspending his law license. Jackson is required to deliver to all clients any papers or property to which they are entitled.
This suspension remains in effect until dissolution or modification by the Supreme Court. Jackson may for good cause request dissolution or modification of the suspension by petition to the Supreme Court.
Donald Edwin Spurrell, of Washington County, received a Public Censure.
According to a news release from the BPR, Spurrell failed to obtain a written agreement signed by his client in a contingent fee matter, collected an unreasonable fee, and failed to supervise a paralegal who commingled trust funds into Spurrell’s operating account on several occasions.
By these acts, Spurrell was found to have violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5 (fees), 1.15 (safekeeping property), and 5.3 (responsibilities regarding non-lawyer assistants) and he was publicly censured for these violations.
Thomas Martin Browder Jr., of Sullivan County, also received a Public Censure.
According to the release, Browder presented oral argument to the Tennessee Court of Appeals after his law license had been administratively suspended. Browder’s conduct caused the Court to strike his oral argument from the record.
In another matter, Browder continued to represent a client in the same matter for which the client had sued Browder for legal malpractice.
By these acts, the BPR found that Thomas Martin Browder Jr. violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.7 (conflict of interest), 5.5 (unauthorized practice of law), and 8.4(d) (misconduct) and he was publicly censured for these violations.
Richard Dale Darby, of Hamblen County, received a Public Censure as well.
Darby, according to the release, modified an existing fee agreement from an hourly fee to a flat non-refundable fee without obtaining a written agreement signed by his client. Darby failed to deposit the unearned fee into his trust account and failed to promptly refund unearned fees after he terminated the representation. Darby also created a conflict of interest by suing his client prior to formally withdrawing from the representation.
By these acts, the BPR found that Darby violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.5 (fees), 1.7 (conflict of interest), 1.15 (safekeeping property), and 1.16(d) (terminating representation) and he was Publicly Censured for these violations. As a condition of the Public Censure, Darby is required to reimburse $4,025.95 in fees to his former client within 180 days.
A Public Censure is a rebuke and warning to the attorney, but it does not affect the attorney’s ability to practice law.