Attorney Discipline Summaries

• Year: 2025
• Citation: Vol. 30 No. 4 Pg. 0062
• Pages: 0062

Attorney Discipline Summaries Vol. 30 No. 4 Pg. 62 Georgia Bar Journal May 2025

Attorney Discipline Summaries

BY LEONARD CARLIN

Disbarments

Michael Fredrick Greene

348 W. Herman St. Pensacola, FL 32505 Admitted to the Bar 1993

On Dec. 10, 2024, the Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Michael Fredrick Greene (State Bar No. 307901) from the practice of law in Georgia. A Notice of Discipline was filed that alleged serious misconduct related to four different disciplinary matters. The Notice of Discipline issued by the State Bar in these proceedings was properly served on Greene by publication after he failed to acknowledge service within 20 days of a mailing to his official address registered with the State Bar of Georgia's Membership Department. As Greene failed to file a Notice of Rejection to the Notice of Discipline, he was deemed in default and waived his right to an evidentiary hearing.

The facts, as deemed admitted, are as follows. In the matters underlying S24Y1164 and S24Y1165, Greene received Si0,000 from a father to represent his daughter for the limited purpose of a bond hearing in Jones County Superior Court. Accordingly, in June 2020, he filed a limited entry of appearance for purposes of seeking bond on behalf of the client. In November 2020, along with other motions, Greene filed a notice of appearance when the client was indicted. While the client was incarcerated, he was often unavailable when she would call him for case updates. During one telephone conference with the prosecutor and investigator assigned to the client's case, Greene used profane language and was so disruptive while yelling at his family members that the prosecutor rescheduled the conference. Greene failed to attend the rescheduled case conference.

On April 8, 2021, the client, who remained incarcerated, came before the court for a trial calendar call, and despite receiving notice, Greene failed to attend the hearing and did not notify the court of any conflicts, nor did he file a conflict letter. The court was notified that the client and her father had not heard from Greene in several months despite many attempts to communicate with him. When court personnel attempted to contact Greene, he did not respond. The hearing was rescheduled, but Greene still failed to appear, and court personnel, the prosecutor and the client's father were all unsuccessful in contacting him. The trial court then sent a notice for Greene to appear for a show cause hearing, but he failed to attend the show cause hearing that was before another Jones County Superior Court judge. During the show cause hearing, the judge learned that not only had Greene abandoned the case, but, in the words of a prosecutor who appeared at the hearing, he exhibited "rather bizarre behavior" during a meeting with the prosecutor, investigators and the client. The court appointed an assistant public defender to represent the client because she could not afford another attorney, and the client terminated Greene's representation.

Early on in the investigation, the client had told Greene she wanted to cooperate with the prosecuting attorney by offering evidence that may assist in the investigation, but due to Greene's abandonment, her willingness to be a cooperating witness was never conveyed to the prosecutor, and, instead, the co-defendant provided information against the client, which resulted in the co-defendant negotiating a plea agreement.

With regard to S24Y1166, in May 2020, Greene was retained to represent a client in a criminal case in Gwinnett County Superior Court, and he charged the client SI5,000. While incarcerated, the client attended the first court appearance with Greene in May 2020, and in July 2020, she was released from jail on bond. Greene last visited the client two days prior to her release from jail, and in September 2020, the client reached out to the attorney for a status update on her case. After the September 2020 conversation, the client never heard from Greene again. He failed to notify the client of her arraignment hearing in May 2021, and he failed to attend the hearing. Greene also never obtained or explained discovery to the client, and he never shared any plea offers with the client. The client attempted to reach Greene on numerous occasions, but he never responded, and she had to retain new counsel to resolve her case.

Finally, with regard to S24Y1167, in July 2023, a client retained Greene to investigate the incarceration of her father who was an inmate at a federal prison in Georgia. The scope of the representation included an investigation into why the federal prison was holding the father in isolation; whether the father was charged with new crimes; and whether it was legal for the federal prison to return or withhold an inmate's mail. Greene agreed to conduct the investigation for a flat fee of S500 and to provide answers within a few days. The client immediately paid the fee and sent a text message to remind him to send her a receipt and "something formal ... with things clear in writing." Greene did not send her the requested receipt and failed to send a retainer or legal services agreement. The day after receiving payment, Greene responded to the client's inquiry regarding prison mail, and after learning from the attorney that the prison's actions regarding her father's mail were illegal, the client filed a complaint with the regional department of the federal prison. At a later date, Greene notified the client that he was not actually successful in contacting the federal prison, and she determined that he had not completed any of the tasks for which he was retained. The client then requested a full refund; Greene advised that he did not give refunds and that he was closing the case (although he later offered to refund her S200, which she declined).

Based on these facts, the State Disciplinary...