TO BE PUBLISHED 

Suprrtur (Could of 'IA ritfurkv 

2014-SC-000708-KB 

KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION MOVANT 

V. IN SUPREME COURT 

JAMES NEAL TILSON RESPONDENT 

OPINION AND ORDER 

Respondent, James Neal Tilson, whose last known bar roster address is 

341 S. Second Avenue, Yuma, Arizona 85364, and whose KBA Member 

Number is 87209, was admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth of 

Kentucky in 1998. He is a member of the Arizona bar and has recently been 

suspended from the practice of law there for numerous ethical violations. The 

Kentucky Bar Association's Office of Bar Counsel has filed a petition for 

reciprocal discipline under Supreme Court Rule 3.435, and has asked this 

Court to require Tilson to show cause why identical reciprocal discipline 

against him should not be imposed in Kentucky under Supreme Court Rule 

3.435. This Court issued a show-cause order, but Tilson failed to file a 

response. 

On October 17, 2014, the Supreme Court of Arizona entered an order 

accepting discipline by consent suspending Respondent from the practice of 

law in Arizona for three years. See In re Tilson, No. PDJ-2014-9047 (Oct. 17, 
2014) (Order Accepting Agreement for Discipline by Consent as Modified). 1The 

court's order lays out the factUal basis for eleven disciplinary charges, 

consisting largely of accepting fees and failing to do work on the cases. The 

court also noted that Tilson has "voluntarily waived the right to an adjudicatory 

hearing on all the charges" and that he had agreed to "be suspended from the 

practice of law for three years, pay restitution in an amount specified in the 

Agreement as to six of the charges, as a term of probation, participate in fee 

arbitration regarding four of the charges, pay costs of this matter and other 

terms as set forth in the Agreement." Id. at 1-2. The presiding judge in the 

matter ultimately proposed modifying the agreement as to certain matters, 

such as to include mandatory language and to allow an incarcerated former 

client meaningful access to fee arbitration, and the modifications were 

accepted. The agreement was otherwise accepted. 

Under Kentucky Supreme Court Rule 3.435(4), Tilson shall be subject to 

identical discipline in the Commonwealth of Kentucky "unless [he] proves by 

substantial evidence: (a) a lack of jurisdiction or fraud in the out-of-state 

disciplinary proceeding, or (b) that the misconduct established warrants 

substantially different discipline in this State." SCR 3.435(4)(a)-(b). The Arizona 

order, as a "final adjudication in another jurisdiction that an attorney has been 

guilty of misconduct[,] shall establish conclusively the misconduct for purposes 

of a disciplinary proceeding in this State." SCR 3.435(4)(c). 

I The decision and other documents in the case are available online at 

http: / /www.azcourts.gov/ Portals/ 101 / 2014/TilsonZIP.pdf. 

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Tilson has not shown cause why identical reciprocal discipline should 

not be imposed. This Court sees no reason why Tilson should not be subjected 

to identical discipline in this state. 

It is hereby ORDERED that: 

1. The Kentucky Bar Association's petition for reciprocal discipline 

is GRANTED. Respondent, James Neal Tilson, is suspended 

from the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for a 

period of three years. 

2. As required by SCR 3.390, Tilson will, within 10 days after the 

issuance of this order of suspension from the practice of law for 

more than 60 days, notify, by letter duly placed with the United 

States Postal Service, all courts or other tribunals in which he 

has matters pending, and all of his clients of his inability to 

represent them and of the necessity and urgency of promptly 

retaining new counsel. Tilson shall simultaneously provide a 

copy of all such letters of notification to the Office of Bar 

Counsel. He shall immediately cancel any pending 

advertisements, to the extent possible, and shall terminate any 

advertising activity for the duration of the term of suspension. 

3. As stated in SCR 3.390(a), this order shall take effect on the 

10th day following its entry. Tilson is instructed to promptly 

take all reasonable steps to protect the interests of his clients. 

He shall not during the term of suspension accept new clients or 

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collect unearned fees, and shall comply with the provisions of 

SCR 3.130-7.50(5). 

4. In accordance with SCR 3.450, Tilson is directed to pay any 

costs associated with these disciplinary proceedings against 

him, should there be any, and execution for such costs may 

issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and Order. 

All sitting. All concur. 

ENTERED: May 14, 2015. 

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