On Thursday, November 17, 2022, the Supreme Court of Tennessee ordered the temporary suspension of Knox County Attorney Gary Lee Anderson upon the Petition of the Board of Professional Responsibility.
The case, titled In Re: Gary Lee Anderson, was brought by The Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. Case #M2022-01600-SC-BAR-BP.
The petition for the temporary suspension of Anderson is pursuant to Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 12.3, which provides:
On petition of Disciplinary Counsel and supported by an affidavit or declaration under penalty of perjury demonstrating facts personally known to affiant showing that an attorney has misappropriated funds to the attorney’s own use, has failed to respond to the Board or Disciplinary Counsel concerning a complaint of misconduct, has failed to substantially comply with a Tennessee Lawyer Assistance Program monitoring agreement requiring mandatory reporting to Disciplinary Counsel pursuant to Section 36.1, or otherwise poses a threat of substantial harm to the public, the Court may issue an order with such notice as the Court may prescribe imposing temporary conditions of probation on said attorney or temporarily suspending said attorney or both.
The Court, based upon the Petition and the supporting Affidavit found that Mr. Anderson failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility concerning complaints of misconduct in File Nos. 68551c-2ES and 70057c-2-ES.
With the foregoing facts, the court ruled against Mr. Anderson.
The Order of Temporary Suspension reads:
“1. Gary Lee Anderson is hereby temporarily suspended from the practice of law as provided in Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 12.3.
2. Gary Lee Anderson shall comply with Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9 in all respects and particularly as provided in Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 28, regarding the responsibilities of suspended attorneys.
3. Gary Lee Anderson may make application for dissolution or modification of this Order as provided in Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 12.3.
4. The Board of Professional Responsibility shall cause notice of this suspension of Gary Lee Anderson to be published as required by Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 28.11.”
Accordingly, in compliance with the Court’s Order, the Board of Professional Responsibility published the information on the temporary suspension of Mr. Anderson on the same day, November 17, 2022.
Respondent, Gary Lee Anderson is immediately precluded from accepting any new case, and he must stop representing existing clients by December 17, 2022.
Prior to this suspension, Mr. Anderson practiced in Knoxville, Tennessee. He attended Harvard University – Harvard Law School. Anderson has been licensed in Tennessee.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
