Nebel 1346 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: G. THOMAS NEBEL, BPR #5206
CONTACT: JESSE D. JOSEPH
BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
615-361-7500
July 2, 2003
NASHVILLE LAWYER PUBLICLY CENSURED
G. Thomas Nebel, of Nashville, was publicly censured by the Board of Professional
Responsibility on June 25, 2003.
Disciplinary Counsel, acting on the authority of the Board, filed a Petition for Discipline against
Nebel. The petition alleged that during 1997 Nebel had shared attorneyâs fees he received after August 1,
1997, with a non-lawyer with a J.D. degree.
Disciplinary Counsel and Nebel entered into a Settlement Agreement whereby Nebel agreed to
the imposition of a public censure. The Board found that Nebelâs conduct was prejudicial to the
administration of justice and that he improperly shared attorney fees with a non-lawyer after August 1,
1997.
The Board found mitigating the fact that the non-lawyer held himself out as a licensed attorney to
many private practitioners in middle Tennessee during the 1980âs and 1990âs while employed as a
Director of Claims and Risk Management, and given the non-lawyerâs statements to other plaintiffâs
attorneys to the effect that he âacted as his own lawyerâ in handling and settling serious medical
malpractice claims against his employer. The Board also considers as mitigating Nebelâs agreement to
act as presenter at two Ethics Workshop CLE presentations relative to the ethical prohibitions against fee-
sharing and his experiences in that regard.
The Board did not find that Nebel acted intentionally or knowingly with respect to his sharing of
attorney fees, but found at the very least that he should have known the individual was not a licensed
attorney. Further, Nebel assisted the non-lawyer in obtaining employment in mid-1996 with a law firm
as âLitigation Managerâ, and should have known the individual had no law license.
The Board concluded that Nebel acted recklessly and should have known the individual was not
a lawyer.
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Nebel 1346 rel.doc