In the Matter of William Leslie Kirby, III

William Leslie Kirby III, a Georgia lawyer, admitted that he mishandled four separate clients' cases between 2011 and 2016, missing court hearings, failing to withdraw properly from representations, and ignoring clients' calls and requests for files and refunds. Twice before, Kirby asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to approve a light punishment (first a reprimand, then a 30-day suspension), and both times the court said the punishment did not match the seriousness of his conduct. In this third petition, Kirby again asked for a reprimand but said he would accept up to a four-month suspension, and the Special Master who reviews these cases recommended accepting that four-month suspension. The Supreme Court of Georgia disagreed. It looked at how it had punished lawyers in similar past cases involving multiple mishandled clients and found those cases typically resulted in suspensions of six months or more. Because Kirby's case involved four clients, not one, the court rejected the petition again.

The court held that a four-month suspension is insufficient discipline for a lawyer who committed similar rule violations, such as failing to communicate with clients and failing to withdraw properly, across four separate client matters, because comparable multi-client misconduct has generally warranted suspensions of six months or more.

The ruling signals to lawyers and the State Bar of Georgia that neglecting multiple clients over time will likely draw a suspension of six months or longer, not a brief one, and it leaves Kirby's discipline unresolved, meaning clients and the public still await a final sanction.

Petition for voluntary discipline rejected

1. The court reviewed its own precedent on attorney discipline, comparing cases where lawyers violated similar rules (such as failing to communicate with clients or improperly withdrawing) in only one client matter versus multiple client matters.
2. It found that four-month suspensions, like the one Kirby proposed, have generally been reserved for cases involving misconduct in a single client matter, such as In the Matter of Buckley and In the Matter of Norton.
3. By contrast, the court found that cases involving similar violations across multiple client matters, as in In the Matter of Johnson and In the Matter of Brantley, have typically resulted in suspensions of six months or longer.
4. Because Kirby's admitted misconduct spanned four separate client matters rather than one, the court concluded his case fit the pattern calling for a longer suspension, not the shorter one he proposed.
5. The court noted that this was the third time it had rejected Kirby's proposed discipline, and that his continued insistence on a lesser sanction, despite two prior rejections, weighed against accepting the current petition.

• attorney discipline
• State Bar of Georgia
• voluntary discipline petition
• law license suspension
• client neglect