Attorney Discipline
| Jurisdiction | Georgia,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 28 No. 5 Pg. 0035 |
| Pages | 0035 |
| Publication year | 2023 |
Attorney Discipline Summaries
Oct. 26, 2022, through Jan. 18, 2023
BY LEIGH BURGESS
Disbarments
Candice Valerie Blain
3541 Roswell Road NE, Unit 9
Atlanta, GA 30305
Admitted to the Bar 2006
On Jan. 18, 2023, the Supreme Court of Georgia disbarred attorney Candice Valerie Blain (State Bar No. 788082) from the practice of law in Georgia. The matter came before the Court on a Notice of Discipline seeking the disbarment of Blain based on her abandonment of a client. Blain failed to file a Notice of Rejection, and the Court found that she was in default, waived her right to an evidentiary hearing, and was subject to such discipline as determined by the Court.
Blain, who was admitted to the Bar in 2006, was retained to represent a plaintiff in a civil suit in Fulton County State Court. The case was filed in 2016, and on Dec. 20, 2019, the trial court's staff attorney emailed the attorneys and requested a trial announcement. To contact Blain, the staff attorney used the email address provided as a service contact in the court's electronic filing system as well as another email address listed on Blain's law firm's website. The emails sent to both addresses were returned as undeliverable. On Dec. 23, 2019, the staff attorney sent the defendant's lawyer an email setting a trial date in January 2020, and mailed a copy of that email to Blain at the address listed on the State Bar of Georgia's website. The letter mailed to Blain was returned as undeliverable and unable to be forwarded. When the case was called for trial, neither Blain nor her client appeared. The defendant's lawyer, who had entered an appearance in June 2019, informed the court that he had never heard from Blain and she did not respond to his attempts to schedule the court-ordered mediation. The trial court entered an order dismissing the case with prejudice.
Based on these facts, the State Disciplinary Board found, and the Court agreed, that Blain violated Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3, 1.4 and 3.2 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. The maximum sanction for a violation of Rule 1.2 (a) and 1.3 is disbarment, and the maximum sanction for a violation of Rule 1.4 and 3.2 is a public reprimand. In addressing mitigating and aggravating factors, the Board considered that while Blain had no prior disciplinary history, she had experience in the practice of law and that the record showed her...
To continue reading
Request your trial