David Ewing, the attorney who became a go-to historian in Nashville, should be disbarred for fraudulently charging fees and misappropriating money from a client, according to a disciplinary panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility.
In a 64-page report, the BPR found that Ewing:
- took advantage of a longtime friend to gain access to her money
- lied about the fees he was charging her and the cash he withdrew from her trust
- took out a personal loan using his client’s funds as collateral
- used the loan to pay off a line of credit on his house, which he immediately quitclaimed to his wife, Alice Randall
- attempted to surrender his law license to avoid any sanctions
- bounced a check to the victim and never paid the agreed-upon settlement of the case
The panel called Ewing “dishonest and self-serving” and cited his “lack of remorse for his misconduct” in recommending that he be disbarred and that more than $300,000 be returned to his client.
The case stems from a 2017 trust created for Margaret Fort, a longtime friend of Ewing’s who had reached out to him for help in the middle of a mental health crisis. Ewing, who had little experience in setting up or administering trusts, volunteered to prepare documents and serve as her trustee “for free,” according to Fort…