In the Matter of Andrew Matteson

Andrew Matteson, a Georgia attorney, admitted mishandling two clients' legal matters over several years, including failing to keep them informed and neglecting a lawsuit that led to a large default judgment against his clients. Both matters resulted in judgments against Matteson, which he eventually paid. He first asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept a short suspension as discipline, but the court rejected that request because he had not proven his mental health struggles, had not shown his clients were fully repaid, and had not shown he would avoid repeating the same mistakes. In this renewed petition, Matteson supplied medical letters documenting his depression and treatment, proof that his clients had been paid in full, and a plan including regular mental health check-ins and law practice management training. The State Bar did not oppose a six-month suspension. The court agreed, and because Matteson had already voluntarily stopped practicing law for six months starting in April 2019, it made the suspension retroactive, meaning he is immediately reinstated subject to ongoing conditions.

The court held that a six-month suspension, imposed retroactively (nunc pro tunc) to April 1, 2019, was appropriate discipline because Matteson had now proven his mental health conditions, shown his clients were fully repaid, and voluntarily ceased practicing law for the required period while meeting his ethical obligations to those clients.

The decision shows Georgia lawyers can earn credit toward discipline for time they already stopped practicing due to health issues, if they properly document it and make clients whole, while still facing conditions like mental health monitoring and practice management help to protect future clients.

Petition accepted; six-month suspension nunc pro tunc; reinstated with conditions

1. The court explained that its earlier decision in Matteson I had rejected the first petition because Matteson failed to prove his mental health conditions, failed to show his clients were made whole, and failed to show he had taken steps to avoid repeating his misconduct.
2. In this renewed petition, Matteson submitted sealed medical letters and a sworn affidavit documenting years of treatment for depression and anxiety, addressing the mental health proof gap identified earlier.
3. He also provided evidence, undisputed by the State Bar, that the judgments his former clients obtained against him had been fully satisfied, resolving the restitution concern.
4. Applying the standard from a prior case, In the Matter of Onipede, which requires a lawyer seeking a retroactive suspension to prove when he voluntarily stopped practicing, that he told clients he was withdrawing, and that he helped them find new counsel, the court found Matteson met that standard for the period from April 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019.
5. Because Matteson had already completed that six-month period without practicing law and had proposed ongoing mental health certifications and law practice management steps, the court concluded a nunc pro tunc six-month suspension with reinstatement conditions was the appropriate and sufficient sanction.

• attorney suspension
• State Bar of Georgia
• mental health treatment
• client restitution
• nunc pro tunc suspension