On July 24, 2019, Arthur Wayne Henry of Loudon, Tennessee, was disbarred from the practice of law, effective immediately, by Order of the Tennessee Supreme Court. In addition, as a condition of reinstatement, Mr. Henry must make restitution to six clients. He must also pay the Board’s costs and expenses and the court costs within ninety days of the entry of the Order of Enforcement.

In the handling of an estate, when an heir of the decedent attempted to purchase the decedent’s real estate, Mr. Henry misappropriated the purchase money. When the heir of the decedent attempted to purchase the real estate a second time, Mr. Henry misappropriated the purchase money again and forged a deed in an effort to hide his actions. In the representation of a number of other clients, Mr. Henry failed to act diligently, failed to adequately communicate with his clients, failed to place unearned fees in his trust account, made misrepresentations to the clients to make them think their cases were progressing normally, and failed to advise his clients that he had been suspended. When terminated, Mr. Henry failed to refund the unearned fees and return his clients’ files. Mr. Henry also failed to respond to the Board’s requests for information.

Mr. Henry’s ethical misconduct violates Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, Diligence; 1.4, Communication; 1.15(b) and (d), Safekeeping Property and Funds; 1.16(d), Declining and Terminating Representation; 3.2, Expediting Litigation; 8.1(b), Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters; and 8.4(a), (b), (c) and (g), Misconduct.

Mr. Henry must comply with the requirements of Tennessee Supreme Court SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Rule 9, Sections 28 and 30, regarding the obligations and responsibilities of disbarred attorneys.