Nashville, Tenn. - Today the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the decision of a Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility hearing panel to disbar a Knox County attorney.
Beginning in 2019, the Board received several complaints about attorney Elliott J. Schuchardt, alleging several instances of professional misconduct across multiple cases. Some of the misconduct involved Mr. Schuchardt’s lawyering, such as his failure to comply with local rules and submission of legally deficient filings. In another case, Mr. Schuchardt wrongfully refused to provide a former client with his client file. In the process of disputing his client’s request, Mr. Schuchardt falsely claimed that he had discussed his decision to retain the documents with the Board of Professional Responsibility.
In addition to the misconduct in his case management, Mr. Schuchardt also made several threats to fellow members of the legal community. Mr. Schuchardt directed several threats to another attorney about that attorney’s client, in an attempt to gain leverage in one of Mr. Schuchardt’s pending cases. Additionally, Mr. Schuchardt made several threats to counsel for the Board of Professional Responsibility.
A three-attorney panel reviewed the complaints in this case and conducted a hearing. Based on the evidence, the panel recommended disbarment. Mr. Schuchardt appealed to the Knox County Chancery Court, which affirmed.
Mr. Schuchardt then appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s attorney-discipline system and the evidence supporting his disbarment. The Court affirmed, concluding that lower courts’ decisions were supported by substantial and material evidence. The Court also reiterated that Tennessee’s system of attorney-discipline comports with constitutional principles.
To read the Court’s opinion in Schuchardt v. Board of Professional Responsibility, authored by Justice Mary L. Wagner, go to the opinions section of TNCourts.gov.