More Than A Reprimand

In the preceding post, we noted that the Georgia Supreme Court imposed a lesser sanction than that sought by the State Bar.

To keep the world in balance, the court ordered a six-month suspension despite the State Bar calling for a Review Panel Reprimand

The facts, as deemed admitted by virtue of Johnson’s default, show that, in November 2015, a client retained Johnson to represent him in a civil matter, and Johnson charged the client $7,500 to be paid in installments with a $2,500 deposit up front, which the client paid. Johnson employed a disbarred attorney as his paralegal, and he informed the client that the paralegal would assist him in the client’s matter. But Johnson failed to personally do any work at all on the matter and instead allowed the disbarred attorney to have contact with the client in person, by telephone, and through written correspondence. Johnson (and his paralegal) ultimately abandoned the legal matter to the client’s detriment. Johnson also personally failed to communicate with the client, and when the client attempted to terminate the representation, Johnson failed to refund the fee he was paid that he did not earn. In addition, although Johnson acknowledged service of the Notice of Investigation on September 12, 2016, Johnson failed to respond to it in accordance with Bar Rule 4-204.3 (b).

In aggravation of the level of discipline, the Investigative Panel considered that Johnson acted willfully in collecting a fee from the client and then abandoning his legal matter, and that he acted with a selfish motive. The State Bar also notes that Johnson has a prior disciplinary history, including a formal letter of admonition that he received on January 8, 2012, and an Investigative Panel Reprimand that he received on August 12, 2016.