CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Supreme Court of Tennessee has permanently disbarred a Clarksville attorney from the practice of law.
Today, Robert Louis Booker was disbarred and ordered to pay all costs incurred to the Board of Professional Responsibility, according to Katherine Jennings, executive secretary for the Board of Professional Responsibility.
After a default hearing upon the disciplinary petition, the Hearing Panel found that Booker (in representing a client in a contested divorce), charged, in two installments, a $3,200 non-refundable fee without a written agreement, or alternatively, failed to deposit the fee into an Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) as a retainer and bill against it.
In addition, Jennings said the Hearing Panel found that Booker failed to explain the scope of his representation to his client, and because Booker did not have a written fee agreement, failed to have proper grounds to withdraw based upon the assertion that the client failed to make payments of attorney’s fees and costs, as agreed.
Finally, the panel found that Booker impermissibly disclosed confidential information pertaining to the client in his motion to withdraw and failed to respond to letters from disciplinary counsel seeking a response to the complaint.
Clarksville Now has attempted to reach Booker for comment.
Booker has several previous disciplinary filings against him with the Tennessee BPR. He was previously censured in 2007 and suspended in 2020. He was also suspended in Utah.
Chris Smith contributed to this report.