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Recovery in the News
Suspended lawyer says he's on the road to addiction recovery
Matt Latkin
Knox News
February 9, 2011
Keith Pope doesn't blush when he talks about addiction.
It's a fact the longtime Knoxville lawyer faces every day.
"Recovery's the road I'm on," he said this week. "The only person I have to be angry at is myself, because I made a poor choice. Now I'm on the right side of the fence and headed in the right direction."
Pope, 52, will make his case later this year on why he should keep his license to practice law after a struggle with alcoholism and cocaine addiction. He says he'll be at peace, whatever the decision.
"I'm about recovery," Pope said. "I've taken responsibility for my addiction. As long as you're clean and sober, you win. I'm in this business to help people."
Pope has worked as a lawyer and judicial commissioner in Knoxville for about 25 years, often handling child-support cases. The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended his law license last week, saying he violated the terms of a drug-monitoring agreement he entered in July after an earlier suspension.
Pope doesn't deny he relapsed this fall but said he's put that behind him. He admitted Dec. 23 to drinking beer. A hair sample on that date tested positive for cocaine use, according to court records, and the state Board of Professional Responsibility filed a petition Jan. 13 for his suspension.
Pope says the hair test, which can detect drug use going back months, didn't tell the whole story. He says he complied with his monitoring agreement - except for a single relapse - and passed repeated urine tests before and after that relapse.
"I passed all drug screens except one," Pope said. "I go to seven (recovery) meetings a week. I call my sponsor every day. I self-reported after I made a mistake in October. I haven't had any problems since then."
Pope said he'll comply with the terms of his suspension, which gave him 30 days to wrap up cases or arrange for representation for his clients. He and his lawyer, Billy Gribble, will argue for reinstating his license at a hearing before three members of the Board of Professional Responsibility.
A date for that hearing hasn't been set.
Matt Lakin may be reached at 865-342-6306.