Opinion ID: 1057671
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Timely Response to Board Inquiries

Text: Next, we address the Panel's finding that Allison failed to timely respond to Board inquiries concerning his representation of Dwayne Knight and thereby violated Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 8, RPC 8.1(b). The proof before the Panel included three letters to Allison from Board disciplinary counsel Sandy Garrett. The first of these letters, dated October 31, 2005, requested that Allison provide information regarding Mr. Trey Jordan's involvement with Mr. Knight's case. The second letter, dated November 17, 2005, reminded Allison that he had not responded to the letter of October 31, 2005, requested a written response within ten days, and stated that your continued failure to respond will be viewed by this office as a violation of the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct. The third letter, dated December 1, 2005, reminded Allison that he had still not responded to the information requests set forth in the preceding letters of October 31, 2005 and November 17, 2005 and, inter alia, that his continued failure to respond will be deemed to constitute additional violations of your professional responsibility. We find that these letters constitute relevant evidence from which the Panel could have rationally concluded that Allison failed to timely respond to Board inquires between October 31, 2005 and December 1, 2005 and thereby violated Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 8, RPC 8.1(b). The Panel's finding that Allison violated Rule 8, RPC 8.1(b) was supported by substantial and material evidence.