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.