BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (2005)
Archived Content: This document is formally archived for historical reference. The original PDF remains the official record for legal purposes.
Need help? Please use the Assistance Request Form below.
Original PDF Document
Download Official Record (whiteside-1450-6-rel632459750979875069.pdf)
Alternative Accessible HTML
Accessible Alternative: This HTML version is an automatically processed accessible alternative. While it provides a searchable format, the text extraction may contain formatting or character errors. The original PDF remains the authoritative official record.
Need a different format? Use the Request Assistance Form.
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 TELEPHONE: (615) 361-7500 JESSE D. JOSEPH
DEPUTY CHIEF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL
(800) 486-5714 JAMES A. VICK
FAX: (615) 367-2480 THERESA M. COSTONIS
BEVERLY P. SHARPE
CONSUMER COUNSEL DIRECTOR
E-MAIL: ethics@tbpr.org DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL
RELEASE OF INFORMATION
THOMAS L. WHITESIDE, BPR #16371
CONTACT: CHARLES A. HIGH
BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
615-361-7500
March 8, 2005
BRENTWOOD LAWYER DISBARRED
On March 4, 2005, the Supreme Court of Tennessee entered an order disbarring
Thomas L. Whiteside from the practice of law. Previously on January 28, 2004, the Supreme
Court temporarily suspended Mr. Whitesideâs right to practice for failure to respond to a
disciplinary complaint.
A petition for discipline involving three disciplinary complaints was filed on June 28,
2004. On August 12, 2004, a motion for default judgment on the petition for discipline was
filed.
On November 19, 2004, a hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility
convened. The respondent, Thomas L. Whiteside, was given proper notice of the hearing but
failed to appear.
The hearing panel heard testimony and other proof and issued a Judgment of the Hearing
Panel on December 15, 2004. The hearing panel found that the respondent abandoned his law
practice, knowingly failed to perform services to clients and neglected legal matters of clients
causing serious injury to his clients. The hearing panel found that Whiteside took client funds
under false pretenses and deceived his clients.
The hearing panel granted the motion for default judgment and recommended that the
respondent be disbarred. Neither party appealed the Judgment of the Hearing Panel.
Based upon the hearing panelâs recommendation the Supreme Court entered the order of
disbarment. A disbarred attorney may not apply for reinstatement for at least five years after the
effective date of disbarment. An attorney petitioning for reinstatement after disbarment must
have a hearing before a hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility. After the
hearing, the hearing panel makes a written report to the Supreme Court recommending for or
against reinstatement. The attorney shall be reinstated only by order of the Supreme Court. The
burden of proof requires that an attorney applying for reinstatement show by clear and
convincing evidence that reinstatement will not be detrimental to the integrity and standing of the
bar or the administration of justice or subversive to the public interest.
CAH:mw
Whiteside 1450-6 rel.doc