Censures In Tennessee

A public censure has been imposed by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility

Ms. Cox was formerly employed with a company that places attorneys to work in full-time positions as in-house counsel. Ms. Cox worked remotely out of her home in South Carolina. Ms. Cox was required to submit weekly timesheets confirming that she completed her required hours. During a seven (7) week period, Ms. Cox was unable to complete any work due to personal issues. Ms. Cox submitted timesheets for each of the seven (7) weeks, falsely claiming that she had worked her required full-time hours.

By these acts, Ms. Cox has violated South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(b) (criminal conduct); 8.4(c) (moral turpitude) and 8.4(d) (conduct involving dishonesty) and is hereby Publicly Censured for these violations.

The same sanction was imposed in an unrelated matter

Ms. Tobin is a Certified Estate Planning Specialist. From August 2004 to 2023, Ms. Tobin provided estate planning services for a client, including drafting multiple Living Trusts. At the client’s request, Ms. Tobin listed herself in the estate documents as beneficiary of a substantial gift of $30,000 and a necklace. Ms. Tobin knew that she could not prepare an estate document bequeathing a substantial gift to herself, but did not advise the client of this restriction nor decline representation to avoid ethical violations. Rather, Ms. Tobin listed her law partner as the drafter of the estate documents without his knowledge and presented the documents to the client for signing, thereby knowingly making a false statement of fact and engaging in fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading conduct.

(Mike Frisch)