In re Palmer
Decision Date | 19 January 2022 |
Docket Number | S22Y0394 |
Citation | 868 S.E.2d 234,313 Ga. 115 |
Parties | In the MATTER OF Sawand PALMER. |
Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Wolanda R. Shelton, Assistant General Counsel, Paula J. Frederick, General Counsel, Jenny K. Mittelman, William Dallas NeSmith, III, Deputy General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, 104 Marietta Street, NW, Suite 100, Atlanta, Georgia 30303, for Appellant.
Roy W. Copeland, Copeland & Walker, P. O. Box 1933, Valdosta, Georgia 31602, Tyrone Nathaniel Haugabrook, Copeland, Haugabrook & Walker, 104 E Adair Street, Valdosta, Georgia 31601-4506, for Appellee.
Herman Maddox Kilgore, Kilgore & Rodriguez LLC, 36 Ayers Avenue, Marietta, Georgia 30060, LaRae Dixon Moore, Page Scrantom Sprouse Tucker & Ford PC, 1111 Bay Avenue 3rd Floor, PO Box 1199, Columbus, Georgia 31902-1199, for Other Party.
This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the report and recommendation of Special Master Larae D. Moore, who recommends that the Court accept the petition for voluntary discipline filed pursuant to Bar Rule 4-227 (c) by respondent Sawand Palmer (State Bar No. 774898) after the filing of a Formal Complaint and that the Court impose a suspension of between three and 12 months, with conditions on her reinstatement, for her admitted violation of Rule 5.5 (a) ( ) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d).1
The record reflects that Palmer, who has been a member of the Bar since 2010, was indefinitely suspended by an April 25, 2018, order of this Court for her failure to comply with the rules concerning mandatory continuing legal education for the year 2016. The special master recounts that, despite that suspension, Palmer entered a notice of appearance in superior court on May 9, 2018; appeared at a hearing on behalf of a client on May 10, 2018; and appeared at a bond hearing on the client's behalf on May 11, 2018, at which she swore in witnesses, examined witnesses, and made legal arguments. The special master further recites that, despite Palmer having been notified of her suspension by a presiding judge on May 11, 2018, and having apparently confirmed her suspension with the Bar's Continuing Legal Education Department on May 15, 2018, Palmer appeared at a hearing in a different county on May 21, 2018. On the basis of this conduct, Palmer admits that she violated Rule 5.5 (a), for which the maximum sanction is disbarment. Although not directly relevant to the rule violation, the special master notes that Palmer has not practiced law since 2018.
As to the appropriate level of discipline, the special master notes, in aggravation, only Palmer's substantial experience in the practice of law. In mitigation, the special master states that Palmer made a good-faith effort to rectify the consequences of her conduct by resolving the continuing-education issue that prompted her suspension, that she freely made a full disclosure to the Bar regarding this matter and has displayed a cooperative attitude towards these disciplinary proceedings, that she has since maintained her continuing legal education...
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