In the Matter of William D. Thompson Jr

William D. Thompson, Jr., a Georgia lawyer who had been suspended from practicing law in Florida for a year over mishandling his trust account, asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to impose the same discipline here through a process called reciprocal discipline, where Georgia mirrors punishment handed down by another state's bar. The court found several problems with his request. He did not say which specific Georgia ethics rules his conduct violated, he did not show that a one-year suspension matched what Georgia's rules require given that Florida also placed him on a two-year probation with conditions Georgia's rules do not have, he did not attach the Florida disciplinary documents he referenced, and he inaccurately described his current status as an inactive Georgia Bar member in good standing when he was actually suspended for failing to pay his license fee. Because of these gaps, the court rejected the petition.

A petition for voluntary reciprocal discipline must identify the specific Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct violated, establish that the requested discipline is appropriate under Georgia law, include supporting documentation, and accurately describe the attorney's current bar status; because Thompson's petition failed on all these points, it was rejected.

The ruling shows that Georgia lawyers disciplined in other states cannot automatically import that punishment here; they must fully document the violation and match it to Georgia's own rules, which protects the integrity of Georgia's attorney discipline process and public trust in it.

Petition for voluntary discipline rejected

1. Bar Rule 4-227 (a) requires a petition for voluntary discipline to admit facts and conduct that violate specific provisions of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, but Thompson's petition never identified which rules his misconduct violated.
2. The petition also failed to show that a one-year suspension was the appropriate discipline under Georgia law, especially since Florida's punishment included a two-year probation period with trust account restrictions and reporting duties that Georgia's rules have no equivalent mechanism for handling.
3. Rule 9.4 (b) (3) directs that reciprocal discipline proceedings should result in substantially similar discipline to that imposed elsewhere, but the court could not assess similarity without documentation of the Florida proceeding, which Thompson referenced but never attached.
4. Thompson also misstated his current status, describing himself as inactive when he was actually suspended for failing to pay his Georgia Bar license fee, further undermining confidence in the completeness and accuracy of the petition.
5. Because of these combined deficiencies, the court concluded the petition could not be resolved as filed and rejected it outright.

• attorney discipline
• reciprocal discipline
• trust account mismanagement
• State Bar of Georgia
• license suspension