The Tennessee Supreme Court has permanently disbarred an attorney.
Effective July 11, 2025, the Supreme Court of Tennessee permanently disbarred Andy Lamar Allman from the practice of law and ordered him to pay restitution to certain complainants and all costs incurred by the Board of Professional Responsibility in the investigation and litigation of this disciplinary matter.
The Hearing Panel found Mr. Allman failed to provide competent and diligent representation to complainants; failed to keep them informed about their respective cases; charged certain clients an unreasonable fee; engaged in the unauthorized practice of law while suspended by the Supreme Court; failed to respond to the Board regarding disciplinary complaints; failed to notify clients of his suspension from the practice of law; and engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation during the representation. Mr. Allman filed a petition for review, which the Trial Court dismissed with prejudice.
The Hearing Panel found the conduct of Mr. Allman violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 (competence), 1.3 (diligence), 1.4 (communication), 1.5 (fees), 1.16 (declining and terminating representation), 5.5 (unauthorized practice of law), 8.1 (bar admissions and disciplinary matters), and 8.4 (misconduct).
Fox 17 Nashville reported on criminal charges
A notorious Middle Tennessee lawyer serving 45 years in prison for stealing from his clients has lost his appeal.
A 2017 FOX 17 News investigation led to the arrest of Andy Allman and his eventual conviction.
Back in 2017 Andy Allman’s victims filled our conference room with stories of theft and pain.
Suspended and being investigated by the board of professional responsibility, Allman’s legal investigation soon became a criminal investigation.
Convicted of stealing $230,000 from a paralyzed boy and his family, Allman got 10 years for just that crime.
And then another 25 year sentence in Sumner County for stealing from 18 different clients. This includes Kevin Dycus, who simply signed over a $106,000 life insurance policy check for Allman to open a trust for his son. “I guess I was just naive and expected he’s going to go to jail that day. Andy’s knowledge of the legal system…he was able to game it for some time,” said Dycus.
Allman did finally go to jail but he is still actively fighting for himself. He filed a 92 page appeal summarily dismissed by the court of appeals.
All odd to his victims who have been told over and over that Allman is indigent , broke, no money can’t afford a dollar of restitution.
And you wonder, how did this man hire an expensive appeals attorney? Yeah, apparently he’s a really good attorney and a high dollar one, so which is kind of odd when you’re indigent, that you can afford an expensive attorney to do your appeal,” said Allman victim Cathy Brown.
Remember, Allman has been officially named indigent by the courts for a long time. Which brings us to an unexpected pot of money discovered by the Sumner County court system. $111,000 in an Allman account. But by law, his lawyers get first dibs on that money.
So once again it looks like restitution for his victims just slips away.
ReShena Barnes paid Allman $4,500 dollars for a wrongful termination case. She says he just took her money and did nothing and she would like to see that $111,000 divided up between victims.
“ And not just go all to the attorney. And that’ll be if it did, that’d be the same thing happen again, where an attorney takes all of these people’s money and they don’t get anything, no kind of justice out of it,” said Barnes.
Cathy Brown would be retired by now if Allman hadn’t stolen that 230,000 dollars. It was a life-changing theft for lots of people.
“You know, that infuriates me, because it’s not just the money, its my life and my plans that I had and the plans my dad had for me. You know that was his gift to us, and it was just taken away from us,” said Brown.
(Mike Frisch)