Attorney Discipline
Jurisdiction | Georgia,United States |
Citation | Vol. 26 No. 5 Pg. 0046 |
Pages | 0046 |
Publication year | 2021 |
Attorney Discipline Summaries
December 22, 2020 - March 18, 2021
BY JESSICA OGLESBY
Disbarment
Jeffrey Bull Grable
2677 Chriswell Drive
Marietta, GA 30068
Admitted to the Bar 1997
On Feb. 15, 2021, the Supreme Court of Georgia accepted the petition for voluntary surrender of license for attorney Jeffrey Bull Grable (State Bar No. 303870). Grable admitted that he represented an individual client in a dispute with her business co-owner and agreed to prepare and file a lawsuit on the client's behalf, which he did not complete. When the co-owner sued the client instead, he agreed to file a counterclaim, which he did not complete and file, and a sizable judgment was eventually entered against the client. Grable became aware of the judgment but failed to advise the client. Grable admitted that his conduct violated Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3 and 1.4 (a) (3) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. The maximum sanction for a violation of Rules 1.2 (a) and 1.3 is disbarment and the maximum sanction for a violation of Rule 1.4 (a) (3) is a public reprimand. Grable also admitted that he was suspended from the practice of law for six months in 2005, based on similar conduct.
Patrick A. Powell
P.O. Box 576
Dacula, GA 30019
Admitted to the Bar 1998
On Feb. 15, 2021, the Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Patrick A. Powell (State Bar No. 586289) from the practice of law in Georgia. In June 2020, the State Bar filed and served a formal complaint by email, and served it by mail and by publication in August 2020. Powell failed to answer the formal complaint, and the Special Master granted the State Bar's motion for default. The Special Master found that in May 2018, Powell was retained by a third party to represent a client in connection with federal criminal charges pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The third party paid Powell a $4,000 retainer and made one additional $1,000 payment toward the $12,000 fee Powell quoted. Although Powell entered an appearance on the client's behalf in May 2018, he failed to respond to requests for an update on the case, failed to perform any work on the case, failed to appear at pretrial and status conferences held in August 2018, failed to respond to the district court and prosecutor when they attempted to contact him and failed to appear at a show cause hearing. A grievance...
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