Attorney Don Anthony Handley was publicly censured by the Disciplinary District IX of the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee on October 17, 2023, for violating professional conduct rules related to the safekeeping of client funds and property, and managerial and supervisory responsibilities.
The case is titled ‘In the Matter of Don Anthony Handley’ with case no. 71859n-9-SC.
The case involves a personal injury settlement handled by Attorney Handley in January 2019. However, his support staff inadvertently failed to deposit the settlement check received from the insurance carrier of the at-fault driver, which led to an overdraft on Handley’s trust account. The error went unnoticed until July 2022.
The investigation found that Attorney Handley failed to establish and maintain appropriate protocols for trust account management, and failed to properly train and supervise his staff. As a result, Attorney Handley violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 and 5.1.
Consequently, Attorney Don Anthony Handley was publicly censured for these violations. The public censure is conditional upon his completion of the Board’s Trust Account Workshop by September 2024.
The disposition reads:
“By these acts, Mr.Handley has violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 (safekeeping client funds and property) and 5.1 (managerial and supervisory responsibilities) and is hereby Publicly Censured for these violations. The Public Censure is conditioned on Mr. Handley’s completion of the Board’s Trust Account Workshop no later than September 2024.”
According to Avvo.com, Attorney Handley practices in Memphis, Tennessee, having acquired his license to practice in the state in 2001. He attended the North Carolina Central University – School of Law.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
