Parker 24997 rel.PDF (2003)
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BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
of the
SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE
LANCE B. BRACY WILLIAM W. HUNT, III
CHIEF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL 1101 KERMIT DRIVE, SUITE 730 CHARLES A. HIGH
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37217 SANDY GARRETT
LAURA L. CHASTAIN
DEPUTY CHIEF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL TELEPHONE: (615) 361-7500 JESSE D. JOSEPH
(800) 486-5714 JAMES A. VICK
BEVERLY P. SHARPE FAX: (615) 367- 2480 THERESA M. COSTONIS
CONSUMER COUNSEL/DIRECTOR E-MAIL: ethics@tbpr.org DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL
RELEASE OF INFORMATION
RE: JOHN H. PARKER, BPR # 10326
CONTACT: JESSE D. JOSEPH
BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
615-361-7500
February 3, 2003
MEMPHIS LAWYER PUBLICLY CENSURED
John H. Parker, of Memphis, was publicly censured by the Board of Professional
Responsibility on January 30, 2003. The censure was issued by the Board pursuant to Rule 9,
Section 8 of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Parker did not request a hearing on the
matter.
In one complaint filed against Mr. Parker in his capacity as trustee, the Board found that
he encroached upon the corpus of an irrevocable trust in 2000 and 2001 to pay himself attorney
fees which were disputed by the client/grantor. Parker could not be involuntarily removed as
trustee as long as the trust produced no income except upon court action, and he refused to resign
as trustee until December of 2002 - - although the grantor and beneficiaries had demanded his
resignation since the fall of 2001.
Given the absence of any provision within the trust granting Parker the authority to
encroach upon the trust corpus to pay himself disputed attorney fees, the Board found that
Parkerâs reliance upon the general powers of trustees described in Title 50, T.C.A., in justifying
his actions to be misplaced.
The Board concluded that Parker misappropriated entrusted funds of his client, and that
he was exceedingly dilatory by not restoring the funds to the corpus of the trust and by not
resigning as trustee until December of 2002.
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Parker 24997 rel.do c