Supreme Court of Georgia · bar discipline

In the Matter of Pamela Studivant Stephenson

Filed September 28, 2020 · Docket S21Y0081 · 849 S.E.2d 171

The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted a Rockdale-area attorney's request to give up her law license rather than face formal disciplinary charges, a step the court treats as equivalent to disbarment.

In plain language

Pamela Sturdivant Stephenson, a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1994, had already been suspended for failing to respond to the Bar's investigation into a client grievance against her. That grievance raised possible violations of several professional conduct rules covering competence, diligence, communication with clients, fees, expediting litigation, and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, violations that could have led to disbarment. Rather than let the Bar file formal charges, Stephenson asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept the voluntary surrender of her law license. The State Bar supported her request. The court reviewed the petition and agreed to accept it, ordering her name removed from the rolls of lawyers authorized to practice in Georgia.

What the court decided

The court held that Stephenson's petition to voluntarily surrender her law license, filed under State Bar Rule 4-104 (a) before any formal complaint issued, should be accepted, and that this surrender is treated as equivalent to disbarment.

Why it matters

The decision permanently removes Stephenson from practicing law in Georgia without a full disciplinary trial, protecting future clients from the conduct described in the grievance while giving her a faster path than contested proceedings. It also shows how Georgia's Bar discipline system resolves cases through voluntary surrender.

Outcome

Voluntary surrender of license accepted

How the court got there

Stephenson was already under suspension for failing to respond to the Bar's Notice of Investigation, a formal step the State Bar takes to look into a complaint against a lawyer.
The underlying grievance could have supported violations of several Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, some of which carry disbarment as the maximum possible punishment.
Under Bar Rule 4-227 (b) (2), a lawyer facing potential charges can ask to voluntarily surrender her license before the Bar files a formal complaint, which Stephenson did under Rule 4-104 (a).
The State Bar filed a response supporting Stephenson's request, and having reviewed the petition, the court agreed to accept it because a voluntary surrender is treated the same as disbarment.

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