annualreport32.pdf (2013)
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Board of Professional Responsibility
32nd Annual Discipline Report
Fiscal Year July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013
1. Number of Tennessee Attorneys
- Active Attorneys 21,142
- Inactive Attorneys 3,833
- Pro Hac Vice Attorneys 833
2. Complaints
Complaints Received: 1,474
Complaints Pending at beginning of Fiscal Year: 591
Total Complaints: 2,065
Disposition:
Administrative Dismissals: 587
Investigative Dismissals: 613
Transfer to Formal Charges: 170
Diversions: 11
Private Informal Admonitions: 69
Private Reprimands: 13
Informal Public Censures: 30
Consent to Disbarment: 6
Transfer to Disability Inactive: 13
Placed on Retired Status: 17
Other:1 7
Total Complaints processed: 1,536
4. Formal Proceedings:
Formal cases filed: 79
Formal cases pending at beginning of Fiscal Year: 73
Total formal proceedings: 152
1
Abated by death; complaint withdrawn; duplicate file.
32nd Annual Discipline Report
Fiscal Year July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013
5. Formal Proceedings Disposition
Dismissals 3
Public Censures 7
Suspensions 28
Disbarments 14
Transfer to Disability Inactive 7
Placed on Retired Status 2
Temporary Suspensions 15
Reinstatements: 3
Other actions2 7
Total: 86
Resolution of Complaints/Formal Proceedings
July 1, 2012 -- June 30, 2013
2
Abated by death; voluntary non-suit; dismissed.
2
32nd Annual Discipline Report
Fiscal Year July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013
6. Non-disciplinary/Administrative Suspensions:
Non-payment of Annual Fee: 149
Continuing Legal Education non-compliance: 144
Interest on Lawyerâs Trust Accounts non-compliance: 135
Professional Privilege Tax non-compliance: 41
Total: 469
7. Trust Account Overdrafts
Activity:
Overdrafts Received: 172
Overdrafts Pending at beginning of Fiscal Year: 16
Total: 188
Disposition:
Overdrafts Closed: 127
Overdrafts transferred to Investigation: 49
Overdrafts Pending as of end of Fiscal Year: 12
Total: 188
8. Consumer Assistance Program (CAP)
Caseload3
Cases Opened 1021
Cases Closed 985
Activities Opened 1820
Activities Closed 1946
Disposition
Mediate 1096 34%
Advise 1846 57%
Referrals 275 9%
Total: 3217 100%
3
Each case number involves a client and a particular attorney, but within that case, there can be multiple activities. For
example, a case is first opened and a minor communication problem is successfully mediated. Later, there may be a
question about a returned file, which is mediated. These are two separate activities within the same case.
3
32nd Annual Discipline Report
Fiscal Year July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013
9. Education and Information
a. Ethics Opinions
1. Formal Ethics Opinions: In Fiscal Year 2012-2013, the Board issued three Formal
Ethics Opinions:
2012-F-91(c) concerning the ethical propriety of employment of
lawyers admitted to practice in other jurisdictions but not admitted to
practice in Tennessee;
2012-F-155 regarding whether district attorneys can ethically comply
with the requirements of T.C.A. 40-32-101(a); and
2013-F-156 concerning whether a criminal defense lawyer alleged by a
former criminal client to have rendered ineffective assistance of
counsel may voluntarily provide information to the prosecutor
defending the claim outside the court supervised setting.
2. Advisory Opinions: Disciplinary Counsel responded to 2,064 phone and internet
inquiries from attorneys seeking ethical guidance.4
b. Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Presentations: Between July 1, 2012 and June 30,
2013, Disciplinary Counsel presented forty-nine (49) CLE seminars, attended by
approximately 3,417 attorneys. The Board also hosted its Ethics Workshop on October 30,
2012, attended by 101 attorneys.
c. Board Notes: In January 2013, the Board resumed publication of Board Notes, the Boardâs
bi-annual newsletter providing education and information to the bar and the public. Board
Notes is emailed to all attorneys and judges and is published on the Boardâs website.
d. Website at www.tbpr.org: The Board continues to enhance its website with current rule
changes, disciplinary decisions and news for the bar and the public. The Board posts
disciplinary Judgments and has uploaded all Hearing Panel Judgments, Circuit, Chancery and
Supreme Court decisions from 2008 to the present.
4
Tennessee attorneys may submit ethics inquiries to the Board by calling 615-361-7500, ext. 212, or via the Boardâs
website at www.tbpr.org.
4
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