Nancy Jones, Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR), has announced she is resigning from the position effective Sept. 30, to become General Counsel at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. Ms. Jones has served as chief disciplinary counsel at the BPR since May, 2007.
In 1976, The Board of Professional Responsibility was established by the Tennessee Supreme Court to aid it in supervising the ethical conduct of attorneys.
The Board is comprised of lawyer members and three non-lawyer members who offer an enhanced and balanced perspective of the professional responsibilities of the legal profession. The Board’s staff consists of 11 full-time Disciplinary Counsel and 20 support staff members.
Under Ms. Jones’ leadership, the BPR staff investigated over 11866 complaints against attorneys alleging professional misconduct. Almost 2000 of those cases resulted in some form of public or private discipline of attorneys by the Board, including 66 disbarments, 205 public reprimands and 173 suspensions. “Nancy Jones leaves the BPR in a stronger position than it was when she arrived,” said Chief Justice Gary Wade. Thanks to Nancy’s efforts, technological improvements to registration and record keeping systems have been made, and investigation and enforcement of ethical violations by attorneys have been zealous. We commend Nancy for her dedication to the legal system and wish her well as she moves on to her next challenge.”
Prior to joining the BPR, Ms. Jones spent 12 years as a federal prosecutor in New York, Oklahoma and Tennessee and was a litigation partner at Nashville firm Bass, Berry and Sims. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri and her law degree from Syracuse University.