Knox County Attorney Disbarred Due to 3 Separate Complaints of Misconduct

While most lawyers do their best to represent the interests of their clients, there are some who fall short of the mark. Fortunately, clients of these lawyers can file malpractice claims against them if they can show that the lawyer’s actions or lack thereof caused them harm. The legal profession also plays a role in disciplining attorneys when they fail their clients. The attorney discipline process can hold lawyers responsible for misconduct by imposing penalties on them, including the ultimate penalty, disbarment.

Disbarment is the revocation of an attorney’s license to practice law. While some forms of attorney misconduct are best handled with public or private reprimands or temporary suspension from the practice of law, other types of misconduct are best addressed by the removal of the attorney from the practice of law.

On March 25, 2014, the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee disbarred Thomas Francis diLustro. The Board’s decision to disbar Mr. diLustro was based upon three separate complaints of misconduct. In one case, he forged a client’s signature on a parenting plan, submitted the plan to the court for its approval, and then falsely testified under oath about the signature. In that case and in others, Mr. diLustro did not keep his clients reasonably informed about the status of their cases and refused to respond to his clients’ requests for information, even though those requests were reasonable. Also, Mr. diLustro failed to represent the interests of his clients with the diligence that is required of someone who is licensed to practice law.

Attorney discipline actions, including disbarments, can provide useful information to the public about the kinds of things that lawyers must not do. The practice of law is a profession which is governed by rules designed to promote honesty and integrity, and to protect the interests of everyone who is involved in the legal process. The disbarment of Mr. diLustro shows that failure to keep clients apprised of the progress of their case and failure to provide information to clients when they request it are issues which are taken seriously by the Supreme Court of Tennessee, the authority which is entrusted with the task of disciplining attorneys.

If you feel as though your attorney is not keeping you up to date on what is happening with your case, do not brush it off as a minor concern. While it is true that legal actions involve a great deal of stop and go, and periods of activity and inactivity, it is your lawyer’s job to explain the process that your case will go through and help you to understand at any given time where your case is at in that process. In other words, if your case is in a period of inactivity because your attorney cannot proceed further until they have a response from the court or from the other party, you should certainly be made aware of this.

In addition to the status of your case, you should also be able to obtain information about your case from your attorney when you need it. As long as the type and amount of information that you are asking for is reasonable and you have waited a reasonable amount of time for the attorney to provide it to you, their failure to give you the information that you have asked for is a type of attorney misconduct. Do not hesitate to request the information again, and to pursue disciplinary action against the attorney if they continue to deny your request.

If you feel as though you may be a victim of legal malpractice, the knowledgeable Tennessee legal malpractice lawyers at Bailey & Greer, PLLC are here to help. We will answer all of your questions, explain your options, and help you decide how to proceed. To learn more, call us at 901-680-9777 to schedule a time to discuss your case.  At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.

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