On Thursday, September 18, 2025, the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility publicly censured attorney Terrance Earl McNabb. The censure follows findings related to McNabb’s representation of a client in a child custody modification case in Robertson County Juvenile Court in April 2024.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Terrance Earl McNabb.”
According to the Board, McNabb failed to assert several constitutional claims during the juvenile court case that, if raised, could have challenged the validity of the temporary order due to issues such as lack of service and the order’s expiration after 72 hours. Furthermore, McNabb did not raise claims regarding the failure to prosecute and the father’s lack of parentage being established, which, under Tennessee law, could have led to the immediate return of custody to his client.
The Board stated that McNabb’s omissions resulted in a lost opportunity for his client, as the court treated McNabb’s petition to modify custody as a counter-petition to a 2021 petition. His actions also caused financial harm to his client, who incurred an unnecessary filing fee and had to pay additional attorney fees to another lawyer to rectify McNabb’s mistakes.
The Board of Professional Responsibility determined that McNabb’s conduct violated several Rules of Professional Conduct, including competence (Rule 1.1), diligence (Rule 1.3), communication (Rule 1.4(a)), and misconduct (Rule 8.4(d)). As a consequence, he received a Public Censure.
A public censure serves as a formal reprimand and warning to the attorney, but it does not restrict his ability to continue practicing law.
According to Avvo.com, Mr. McNabb is a personal injury attorney in Pleasant View, Tennessee. He attended the Nashville School of Law. He acquired his law license in Tennessee in 1971.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
