Section 15 - Initiation, Investigation, and Hearing15.1.(a) All complaints must be submitted in writing, must contain the identity of the complainant, and must be signed by the complainant. The Board shall provide the respondent attorney with a complete copy of the original complaint and of any additional or supplemental written submissions provided by the complainant. In the event that the Board's investigation is the result of information from a source other than a written complaint pursuant to Section 4.5(a), the Board shall notify the respondent attorney and provide a copy of such information.(b) All investigations, whether upon complaint or otherwise, shall be initiated and conducted by Disciplinary Counsel. Upon the conclusion of an investigation, Disciplinary Counsel may recommend dismissal, private informal admonition, private reprimand, public censure or prosecution of formal charges before a hearing panel.(c) If Disciplinary Counsel recommends disposition by dismissal or private informal admonition, the reviewing member of the district committee in the appropriate disciplinary district shall review the recommendation and may approve or modify it. In reviewing the recommended disposition, the reviewing member of the district committee shall consider the applicable provisions of the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions. In no event may the reviewing member of the district committee impose a sanction greater than private informal admonition. Nor may the reviewing member of the district committee offer diversion except as provided in Section 13.4. Disciplinary Counsel may appeal to the Board the action of the reviewing member of the district committee.(d) If Disciplinary Counsel recommends disposition by private reprimand or public censure, or recommends the prosecution of formal charges before a hearing panel, the Board shall review the recommendation and approve or modify it. In reviewing the recommended disposition, the Board shall consider the applicable provisions of the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions. The Board may determine whether a matter should be concluded by dismissal or private informal admonition; may recommend a private reprimand or public censure; or, may direct that a formal proceeding be instituted(e) A respondent attorney shall not be entitled to appeal a private informal admonition approved by the reviewing member of the district committee or imposed by the Board; similarly, a respondent attorney may not appeal a recommended private reprimand or public censure by the Board. In either case, however, the respondent attorney may, within twenty days of notice thereof, demand as of right that a formal proceeding be instituted before a hearing panel in the appropriate disciplinary district. In the event of such demand, the private informal admonition shall be vacated or the recommended private reprimand or public censure shall be withdrawn, and the matter shall be disposed of in the same manner as any other formal hearing instituted before a hearing panel.(f) If Disciplinary Counsel recommends disposition by dismissal, and if that recommended disposition is approved by the reviewing member of the district committee in the appropriate disciplinary district, Disciplinary Counsel shall provide the complainant notice of the disposition by dismissal. A complainant who is not satisfied with the disposition by dismissal of the matter may appeal in writing to the Board within thirty days of receipt of notice of the reviewing member's approval of the recommended disposition. The Board, or a committee of no fewer than three of its members, may approve, modify or disapprove the disposition, or direct that the matter be investigated further. The complainant has no other or further right of appeal or review under this Rule or otherwise.(g) If Disciplinary Counsel recommends disposition by private informal admonition, and if that recommended disposition is approved by the reviewing member of the district committee in the appropriate disciplinary district, Disciplinary Counsel shall provide the complainant notice that the complaint has been resolved by private informal admonition and that the matter is confidential under Section 32. The complainant has no right to appeal a disposition by private informal admonition under this Section.(h) If Disciplinary Counsel recommends disposition by private reprimand, and if that recommended disposition is approved by the Board, Disciplinary Counsel shall provide the complainant notice that the complaint has been resolved by private reprimand and that the matter is confidential under Section 32. The complainant has no right to appeal a disposition by private reprimand under this Section.15.2.(a) Formal disciplinary proceedings before a hearing panel shall be commenced by Disciplinary Counsel by filing with the Board a Petition for Discipline (hereinafter "Petition") which shall be sufficiently clear and specific to inform the respondent attorney of the alleged misconduct. Disciplinary Counsel, as needed, may file Amended Petitions which arise out of the same facts and circumstances but which change, delete or augment the existing allegations. Disciplinary Counsel, as needed and with the approval of the Board, may file Supplemental Petitions which make new allegations and which bring new charges arising from a different complaint(s) not previously included in a Petition. No Petition, Amended Petition, or Supplemental Petition shall include allegations of any private discipline previously imposed against the respondent attorney.(b) A copy of the Petition shall be served upon the respondent attorney pursuant to Section 18.1. The respondent attorney shall serve an answer upon Disciplinary Counsel pursuant to Section 18.2 and file the original with the Board within thirty days after the service of the Petition, unless such time is extended by the agreement of Disciplinary Counsel or by leave of the Chair of the Board. In the event the respondent attorney fails to answer, the charges shall be deemed admitted and Disciplinary Counsel may move the hearing panel assigned to hear the matter for entry of a Judgment of Default. Disciplinary Counsel shall serve a copy of any such motion on the respondent attorney pursuant to Section 18.2. Relief from a Judgment of Default for failure to serve an answer to the Petition within thirty days shall be determined by the hearing panel in the same manner such motions are determined by Rule 55.02 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. Upon granting relief from a Judgment of Default, the hearing panel may extend the respondent attorney's time to answer the Petition.(c) A copy of any Amended Petition or Supplemental Petition shall be served on the respondent attorney pursuant to Section 18.2. The respondent attorney shall serve an answer on Disciplinary Counsel pursuant to Section 18.2 and file the original with the Board within fifteen days after service of the Amended Petition or Supplemental Petition, unless such time is extended by the agreement of Disciplinary Counsel or by leave of the hearing panel assigned to hear the matter.(d) Following the service of the answer to the Petition, or upon failure to answer, the matter shall be assigned by the Chair of the Board to a hearing panel. The Chair of the Board, or in the absence of the Chair the Vice-Chair of the Board, shall select the hearing panel from the members of the district committee in the district in which the respondent practices law. The hearing panel shall be selected pursuant to written procedures approved by the Board. If there is an insufficient number of committee members in that district who are able to serve on the hearing panel, the Chair, or Vice -Chair, may appoint one or more members from the district committee of an adjoining district to serve on the panel.(e) Ex parte communications between the Chair or the Vice-Chair of the Board, district committee members, and the Executive Secretary of the Board concerning the selection of hearing panels and for scheduling or other administrative purposes are permitted. A district committee member may advise the Executive Secretary of the Board if he or she is unable to serve on a hearing panel for any reason.(f) A pre-hearing conference shall be held within sixty days of the filing date of any Petition commencing a formal proceeding, or within thirty days of the filing of the answer if an extension has been granted. The pre-hearing conference shall be conducted by the chair of the assigned hearing panel and at least one other member of the hearing panel. The pre-hearing conference may be conducted in person, by telephone, or by video conference. In the pre-hearing conference, the hearing panel shall schedule deadlines for discovery, the filing of motions, and the exchange of witness and exhibit lists, and it also shall set the hearing date. The hearing panel may discuss with and accept from the parties stipulations of fact and/or stipulations regarding the authenticity of documents and exhibits, may narrow the issues presented by the pleadings, and may address any other matter the hearing panel deems appropriate in the management of the proceeding, including but not limited to the resolution of any discovery disputes except as otherwise provided by Section 19. Subsequent pre-hearing conferences may be held in the discretion of the hearing panel, acting on its own initiative or upon motion of a party. Within five days of each pre-hearing conference, the chair of the hearing panel shall file an order reciting the actions taken by the hearing panel during the conference, including any deadlines imposed and the date set for the hearing. The order shall advise the respondent attorney that he/she is entitled to be represented by counsel, to cross-examine witnesses, and to present evidence in his/her own behalf.(g) In a hearing panel's hearing on the Petition, Disciplinary Counsel may submit evidence of prior discipline against the respondent attorney, including prior private discipline, as an aggravating circumstance. Such evidence may be introduced to the extent it is otherwise admissible under the Tennessee Rules of Evidence. Pursuant to Section 32.6, the respondent attorney may apply to the hearing panel for a protective order concerning the admission of evidence of prior private discipline.(h) In hearings on formal charges of misconduct, Disciplinary Counsel must prove the case by a preponderance of the evidence.15.3.(a) In every case, the hearing panel shall submit its findings and judgment, in the form of a final decree of a trial court, to the Board within thirty days after the conclusion of the hearing. The hearing panel's findings and judgment shall contain a notice that the findings and judgment may be appealed pursuant to Section 33. The Executive Secretary shall serve a copy of the hearing panel's findings and judgment upon Disciplinary Counsel, the respondent attorney and the respondent attorney's counsel of record pursuant to Section 18.2. The hearing panel may make a written request to the Chair for an extension of time within which to file its findings and judgment. In the event that the hearing panel does not submit its findings and judgment within thirty days or such other time as extended by the Chair, Disciplinary Counsel shall report the same to the Court which may take such action as it deems necessary to secure submission of the findings and judgment. The failure of the hearing panel to meet this deadline, however, shall not be grounds for dismissal of the Petition.(b) There shall be no petition for rehearing. Any appeal pursuant to Section 33 must be filed within sixty days of the entry of the hearing panel's judgment. If the Board makes application to the hearing panel for the assessment of costs pursuant to Section 31, the making of such application shall extend the time for taking steps in the regular appellate process under Section 33.1(a) unless, upon application of the Board to the Court and for good cause shown, the Court orders otherwise.15.4.(a) If the hearing panel finds one or more grounds for discipline of the respondent attorney, the hearing panel's judgment shall specify the type of discipline imposed: disbarment (Section 12.1 ), suspension (Section 12.2 ), or public censure (Section 12.4 ). In the discretion of the hearing panel, the imposition of a portion but not all of a suspension for a fixed period of time (Section 12.2 ) may be deferred in conjunction with a period of probation ordered pursuant to Section 14. In addition to imposing one of the foregoing types of discipline, the hearing panel may order restitution (Section 12.7 ). Temporary suspension (Section 12.3 ), private reprimand (Section 12.5 ), and private informal admonition (Section 12.6 ) are not types of discipline available to the hearing panel following the filing of a Petition for Discipline. In determining the appropriate type of discipline, the hearing panel shall consider the applicable provisions of the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions. (b) If the judgment of the hearing panel is that the respondent attorney shall be disbarred or suspended for any period of time or shall receive a public censure, and no appeal is perfected within the time allowed, or if there is a settlement providing for a disbarment or suspension for any period of time or a public censure, at any stage of disciplinary proceedings, the Board shall file in the Nashville office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court a Notice of Submission with attached copies of the Petition, the judgment or settlement, the proposed Order of Enforcement, and a Protocol Memorandum as defined in Section 2. A copy of the proposed Order of Enforcement and the Protocol Memorandum shall be served upon the respondent attorney and the respondent attorney's counsel of record pursuant to Section 18.2. In all cases except those in which the sanction imposed is by agreement, the respondent attorney shall have ten days from service of the foregoing within which to file with the Court and serve upon Disciplinary Counsel pursuant to Section 18.2 a response to the Protocol Memorandum. Such response shall be limited to contesting any alleged factual errors in the Protocol Memorandum. The Court shall review the recommended punishment provided in such judgment or settlement with a view to attaining uniformity of punishment throughout the State and appropriateness of punishment under the circumstances of each particular case. The Court may direct that the transcript or record of any proceeding be prepared and filed with the Court for its consideration.(c) If the Court finds that the punishment imposed under subsection (b) appears to be inadequate or excessive, it shall issue an order advising the Board and the respondent attorney that it proposes to increase or to decrease the punishment. If the Court proposes to increase the punishment, the respondent attorney shall have twenty days from the date of the order to file a brief and request oral argument; if the Court proposes to decrease the punishment, the Board shall have twenty days from the date of the order within which to file a brief and request oral argument. Reply briefs shall be due within twenty days of the filing of the preceding brief. If a party requests oral argument, the Court may grant it. Upon termination of such proceedings as are requested, the Court may modify the judgment of the hearing panel or the settlement in such manner as it deems appropriate. There shall be no petition for rehearing.(d) If the judgment of a hearing panel is appealed to the circuit or chancery court pursuant to Section 33 and the trial court enters a judgment disbarring or suspending the respondent attorney for any period of time or imposing a public censure, and no appeal is perfected within the time allowed, the Board shall file in the Nashville office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court a Notice of Submission with an attached copy of its judgment. The Court shall review the recommended punishment provided in such judgment with a view to attaining uniformity of punishment throughout the State and appropriateness of punishment under the circumstances of each particular case. The Court may direct that the transcript or record of any proceeding be prepared and filed with the Court for its consideration.(e) If the Court finds that the punishment imposed under subsection (d) appears to be inadequate or excessive, it shall issue an order advising the Board and the respondent attorney that it proposes to increase or to decrease the punishment. If the Court proposes to increase the punishment, the respondent attorney shall have twenty days from the date of the order to file a brief and request oral argument; if the Court proposes to decrease the punishment, the Board shall have twenty days from the date of the order within which to file a brief and request oral argument. Reply briefs shall be due within twenty days of the filing of the preceding brief. If a party requests oral argument, the Court may grant it. Upon termination of such proceedings as are requested, the Court may modify the judgment of the trial court in such manner as it deems appropriate. There shall be no petition for rehearing.