“Paymaster” Surrenders License
A petition for voluntary license surrender was accepted by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Axam admits that he agreed in 2010 to act as a “paymaster” for a client, a role for which he was paid $5,000 for each transaction that he facilitated. On August 5, 2010, another individual — at the direction of Axam’s client — directed a wire transfer of $100,000 to what he believed was Axam’s trust account; in fact, the money was wired to Axam’s operating account. At that time, Axam did not maintain a trust account, and he generally used his operating account to handle the business of his law practice, as well as personal funds. A few days after Axam received the funds, he disbursed them according to the instructions of his client, retaining $5,000 for himself as his transaction fee. Although the individual who had directed the transfer to Axam specifically requested that he be notified of the disbursement of the funds, Axam failed to notify him. That individual later contacted Axam and repeatedly requested documentation of the disbursement, but Axam failed to provide an accounting or otherwise to document the disbursement of the funds until after the individual filed a grievance. Axam has admitted that he did not read the terms of the trading platform contract in connection with which he was serving as “paymaster,” that he did not know the nature of the business dealings between his client and the other individual, and that he asked no questions about the transaction that he facilitated. Although Axamnoted that the disbursement instructions from his client came by an e-mail that referred to his client by a different name than that by which he knew her, he says that he assumed that the other name was just a trade name for his client. By these acts, Axam admits that he violated Rules 1.15 (I) and (II) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, violations that subject a lawyer to disbarment.
SaporaReport had a story on a suit that the attorney handled against Tyler Perry.
A star-studded group of lawyers is set to appear Friday in federal court in Atlanta to begin the debate over whether Tyler Perry got a sweetheart deal to buy most of Fort McPherson to build a film studio.
Tony Axam confers with Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson during a trial this month. Credit: henryherald.com
Positioned against Perry as the plaintiff’s lawyer is Tony Axam, a noted death penalty attorney who once was called to serve on the defense team of convicted serial killer Wayne Williams – until Williams fired him without explanation at the outset. Axam specializes in complex business litigation, as well as capital and criminal defense.
Leading Perry’s defense is Larry Dingle, a former Atlanta police officer who earned his law degree from Georgia State and rose through the ranks at Atlanta City Hall during the terms of former mayors Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young to the positions of department head and city clerk. Dingle specializes in local government law and land use.
(Mike Frisch)