A Hamilton County attorney was publicly censured for responding online to a negative Google review about her legal services.
Cindy Powell Bice was representing a client in a child support modification case when the client posted the review, the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility announced Wednesday in a statement.
Bice allegedly responded with detailed confidential information relating to her representation of the client, the statement said.
A reporter contacted Bice by phone, and she declined to comment.
When an attorney is publicly censured, it means they were rebuked and warned but can still practice law, the statement said.
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Bice allegedly made references to the client’s minimal payment toward her retainer fee, a contempt action brought against the client for failure to pay child support and inability to pay, the client’s disability and disability attorney, an actual hearing date and various attorney-client communications, the statement said.
After the client officially stopped using Bice’s services, Bice did not file to withdraw her representation for seven weeks and delayed doing so until the day of the client’s hearing, the statement said.
“In addition, between 2015 and 2023, Ms. Bice also posted online responses to four negative client reviews, revealing confidential information about former clients’ representation, including disclosure of fee amounts paid, legal advice given, actions/inactions by the clients, and other information that would not have been available as public record or generally known,” the statement said.
It was found that Bice violated certain rules of professional conduct, which included confidentiality of information, duties to former clients and declining or terminating representation, the statement said.
A publicly censured attorney can chose not to request a hearing and/or enter a condition plea to the formal disciplinary charges filed by the board, Sandy Garrett, the panel’s chief disciplinary counsel, previously said.
Bice was ordered to complete three hours of continuing legal education about client confidentiality and social media use within 90 days in addition to three ethics hours already required.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.