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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
A Montgomery County attorney has been suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court for practicing law without a valid license.
Clarksville attorney Colleen Ann Hyder failed to pay her professional privilege tax in January 2020. She continued to represent clients, which is against state law.
Payment of the tax is required by licensed attorneys in order to maintain their license, and failure to do so results in immediate suspension.
The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility filed ethics charges against Ms. Hyder, leading to a board hearing.
The Board subsequently ruled that she could not continue to practice law while her license was suspended and recommended a public admonition from the Tennessee Supreme Court.
When Ms. Hyder appealed this recommendation, the Montgomery County Chancery Court modified the sanction to public censure instead. She then took her case to the Tennessee Supreme Court, arguing that there was a 30-day grace period to legally practice law after her suspension.
However, the court unanimously rejected her appeal, clarifying that there is no “grace period” that would allow attorneys who fail to pay the privilege tax to continue representing clients.
The unanimous opinion in Hyder v. BPR, authored by Justice Dwight E. Tarwater, can be found here.
3 Responses
I suspect the bar association has a part in this fiasco.
Travis R, what fiasco? A lawyer takes an oath to uphold the constitution of Tennessee and one way to uphold it is to obey it, or live with the consequences.
I believe I am right when I say that all professionals in TN must pay a privilege tax. I know I did as a practicing physician.
I she thought tax was unfair she should have fought to have it overturned. In the meantime she should have gladly paid.
Taxation is theft.