The Tennessee Supreme Court penalized a Montgomery County attorney for practicing law with a suspended license.
Colleen Ann Hyder, a Clarksville attorney, failed to pay her professional privilege tax in January 2020 and continued to handle clients, which is illegal in Tennessee.
Licensed attorneys must pay this tax to maintain their licenses; failure to do so will result in an immediate suspension of the attorney’s license.
Tennessee’s Board of Professional Responsibility charged Ms. Hyder with ethics, leading to a board hearing where they determined she could not practice law with her license suspended. The board then recommended that the Tennessee Supreme Court issue her a public admonition.
She filed an appeal against this suggestion, and the Montgomery County Chancery Court changed the sentence to public censure. Ms. Hyder then appealed the matter to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
She claimed that after her suspension, she had 30 days to legitimately practice law. The court unanimously rejected her arguments.
The court states that there is no mention of a “grace period,” which would allow attorneys who do not pay the privilege tax to continue representing clients.