BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (2009)
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BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
OF THE
SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE
1101 KERMIT DRIVE, SUITE 730
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37217
TELEPHONE: (615) 361-7500
(800) 486-5714
FAX: (615) 367-2480
E-MAIL: ethics@tbpr.org
Website: www.tbpr.org
RELEASE OF INFORMATION
RE: TREY CAIN BPR# 23543
CONTACT: KEVIN BALKWILL
BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
615-361-7500
October 26, 2009
WILLIAMSON COUNTY LAWYER CENSURED
On October 23, 2009, Trey Cain, an attorney licensed to practice law in Tennessee, received a Public
Censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
In November 2008, Cain formed an LLC with two non-lawyers for the purpose of handling loan
modifications for clients who were in danger of defaulting on real estate loans. The âlaw-related servicesâ were
promoted as having attorney involvement which would be beneficial to its clients. Cain failed to take
reasonable measures to assure that persons obtaining the âlaw-related servicesâ knew that the services were not
legal services and that the protections of the client-lawyer relationship did not exist. The LLC had a 100%
refund policy and client payments were deposited into a bank account set up by Cain. Non-lawyers had access
to the bank account and withdrawals were made without proper accounting. Cain shared fees with non-lawyers
in conjunction with the âlaw-related services." In March 2009, Cain discovered that work was not being
diligently performed on behalf of a client. Cain also discovered that there were insufficient client funds
available to meet the LLCâs 100% refund policy. Cain withdrew the remaining client funds and commingled
the funds with his law firm trust account.
By the facts as stated above, Cain violated Rules of Professional Conduct RPC 1.4 (communication),
RPC 1.15 (safekeeping funds), RPC 5.3 (non-lawyers), RPC 5.4 (lawyer independence), and RPC 5.7 (law-
related services), and is hereby Publicly Censured for these violations.
Cain 32139-6 rel.doc
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