william clark barnesjr

The Tennessee Supreme Court, in 1976, initiated a professional responsibility system for Tennessee attorneys. In that year the Court designated its Board of Professional Responsibility to aid it in supervising the ethical conduct of attorneys. Since then, the system has broadened to include other facets: published ethics opinions, an ethics hotline, ethics seminars, an attorney trust account overdraft notification program, professional enhancement instruction, a lawyer assistance program for those who are impaired, and a consumer assistance program. The Board of Professional Responsibility is comprised of nine lawyer members, and three non-lawyer members who offer an enhanced and balanced perspective of the professional responsibilities of the legal profession. The Boards staff consists of nine full-time Disciplinary Counsel and ten support staff members.