Wednesday, May 13, 2015

DESPITE FELONY CONVICTION, PAST DISCIPLINE, ATTORNEYS' LICENSES NOT SUSPENDED




MAY 13, 2015

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV)

Midstate lawyers Fletcher Long and Carrie Gasaway were convicted of extortion on Tuesday.

Both of them were also disciplined five times prior to that felony conviction, but none of that was enough for the Board of Professional Responsibility to suspend their licenses.

Long and Gasaway were involved in several high-profile cases. Long represented Brandon Vandenburg in the Vanderbilt rape case, while Gasaway represented John McCaul in the Sonya custody case that drew national attention.

Long is currently in the middle of the Holly Bobo case.

The felony extortion conviction carries a minimum of four years in jail. Defense attorney Rob McGuire said it's a black mark for every honest lawyer.

"Mr. Long is constantly in the public eye," McGuire said. "And so the fact that he now stands convicted of extorting a client makes all of us look bad. It makes every attorney in Tennessee look bad."

The Board of Professional Responsibility, which controls the licensing of lawyers, censured Long three times for ethical misconduct and fee issues. Gasaway was disciplined twice, also for fee issues.

Neither lawyer had their license suspended then nor for the current extortion case.

"There's a balance between a person's liberty interests, which involves their presumption of innocence, and their licensing, which is a business relationship," McGuire said. "And I think to make sure that attorneys are not taking advantage of clients where they have this special relationships, the board needs to be proactive to make sure that the public is protected."

The Board of Professional Responsibility declined an interview on Wednesday. Chief counsel Sandy Garrett told Channel 4 these were very complicated, difficult cases.

In 2014, 12 lawyers were disbarred and 26 suspended statewide.

Long and Gasaway will get a license hearing after their sentencing for extortion.