“Impulsive, Reckless, And Inconsiderate”
The Georgia Supreme Court accepted a proposed reprimand of an attorney for an intemperate text message
As recounted by the special master, Davis admitted that he sent a text message to a former client (the “grievant”) in an attempt to coerce her into discussing with him a domestic dispute that had blossomed into a legal matter in which Davis was acting on behalf of the grievant’s domestic partner, who also was a friend and a former client of Davis’s. In the text message, Davis indicated that he was aware of the grievant’s status as an “illegal alien”; threatened that he would call the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and have the grievant “picked up” if she refused to call him back; and advised the grievant that he was aware of her address.
He admitted a Rule 3.1(a) violation, which states that a lawyer shall not
file a suit, assert a position, conduct a defense, delay a trial, or take other action on behalf of the client when the lawyer knows or when it is obvious that such action would serve merely to harass or maliciously injure another…
On these facts
In his second amended petition, Davis, who became a member of the Bar in 1994, admitted that he was personal friends of the grievant’s domestic partner; that he had consulted with that man regarding several business and family matters over the last 13 years; that he was aware that the grievant and her domestic partner had been involved in a long-term, tumultuous personal relationship and had a child together; that he represented the grievant in 2008 or 2009 in connection with a matter arising from a traffic accident; that he learned, through his social relationship with the grievant’s domestic partner, that the grievant was an undocumented immigrant; that beginning in May 2018, after the domestic partner contacted him about an incident involving the grievant, he tried to contact her in an effort to amicably resolve the dispute, but was unsuccessful; that he subsequently became aware that the grievant alleged that the incident involved criminal violence against her by her domestic partner; that he still believed he could mediate the dispute between them; and that, toward that end and in an effort to have the grievant contact him, he sent her the above-described text message on behalf of the domestic partner. Davis admits that sending the text was impulsive, reckless, and inconsiderate, but avers that he did not intend to scare the grievant (although he concedes that in hindsight he “realize[s] how that text may’ve caused her emotional distress”) and that he did not share the information contained in the text with anyone other than the grievant.
The court
Having reviewed the record, the Court agrees that the imposition of a public reprimand is an appropriate sanction in this matter.
(Mike Frisch)