Donati Law PLLC – Memphis Flyer

A Memphis law firm left the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) Tuesday after the firm said the group had “voted to remain silent” on President Donald Trump’s actions to erode the rule of law and an independent judiciary.

Donati Law ended more than 40 years of membership with TBA Tuesday in a letter made public on Facebook Wednesday. The Midtown law firm focuses on employment law, personal injury, and criminal defense, according to its website.

”It is with great sadness that we feel obligated to leave the TBA due to its refusal to take a stand consistent with the ideals of the Rule of Law and an independent judiciary in the face of extreme threats from the executive branch,” reads the letter addressed to TBA leaders.

The letter says, specifically, that the TBA “once again voted to remain silent” on April 14. Details of the triggering event on this date were not immediately clear, but Donati attorney Bryce Ashby said it was related to activities from another Memphis attorney, Brian Faughnan, of Faughnan Law.

One his blog, Faughnan on Ethics, Faughnan said many bar associations, like the American Bar Association, have spoken out against Trump actions that erode the rule of law. In an April 8^th blog post, though, Faughnan said, ”the Tennessee Bar Association and the Memphis Bar Association have not.”

After private talks with the TBA, he said on April 16, he’d become “more and more convinced that the TBA is actually determined to remain silent in an unforgivable act of cowardice.”

The TBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story. But this story will be updated with their statement if it does.

The Donati letter provides a long list of the Trump-Administration actions that threaten “the very fabric of our constitutional system.” That list includes Vice President JD Vance and Memphis businessman and DOGE frontman Elon Musk calling for the impeachment of judges based on decisions to try to rein in executive overreach. The firm is also wary of Border czar Tom Horan and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who have said that judiciary has no power over the executive branch and that court orders may simply be disregarded.

The list from the firm included the Trump adminstration’s refusal to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court order, as well as those of lower courts that required due process for immigrants facing deportation, and the return of Kilmar Ábrego Garcia from El Salvador.

The firm said Trump has fired “those charged with ensuring the rule of law” including some at the Department of Justice, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, and 17 inspectors general.

Finally, Donati said Trump has ordered retribution against law firms because of positions they have taken on behalf of clients or because of attorneys hired by their firms.

”These are but a few examples of the full-blown assault on the rule of law and the judiciary,” reads the letter. “These actions damage our system of justice and must be condemned.

“Remaining silent is complicity. The TBA has stayed silent and once again voted to remain silent on April 14, despite the TBA’s self-professed role as a ‘strong advocate for the profession and the development and maintenance of our justice system.’ As a result, we can no longer continue our membership with the Tennessee Bar Association.”

Facebook/MATA

Bus drivers with the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) are suing over alleged unpaid overtime wages.

The lawsuit was filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee by Donati Law, PLLC on behalf of the drivers. The defendant is MidSouth Transportation Management, Inc, (MTM) the Ohio-based company that MATA contracts to hire and manage its drivers. The company is a subsidiary of First Transit.

The drivers are alleging that the company has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay them required overtime wages. The FLSA mandates that employees are paid at least 1.5 times their regular pay rate after exceeding 40 hours of work in a week.

Carlos Boyland, one of the drivers in the lawsuit, has been working as a bus driver here since 1997. He regularly works 100-hour weeks, but isn’t paid full overtime compensation, according to the complaint. Instead, the company paid Boyland and other unnamed drivers their regular rate and, at times, half their regular rate.

“[The] defendant does not and has not made a good faith effort to comply with the FLSA,” the complaint reads. “[The] defendant knew plaintiffs and the punitive collective worked overtime without proper compensation, and it willfully failed and refused to pay.”

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MATA bus drivers have been bringing concerns to MTM management about the failure to pay proper overtime wages for more than 20 years, according to William Ryan, one of the attorneys for the drivers.

“We are hopeful to come to a resolution that fairly compensates these hardworking individuals who work long hours to keep our city connected and accessible,” Ryan said.

The firm is seeking back pay and liquidated damages for drivers who have been denied overtime pay within the past three years.

Nicole Lacey, MATA’s chief communications officer said the agency could not comment on the allegations at this time, as the litigation is ongoing.

First Transit, the parent company of MTM did not immediately respond to the Flyer’s request for comment.