In the Matter of Marta Maria Noriega-Allen

A client hired Marta Maria Noriega-Allen, a Georgia attorney, to represent him in a divorce and paid her nearly $30,000 in retainer funds. After the divorce settled, Noriega-Allen failed to file for attorney fees on his behalf, missed a court hearing on fees, ignored his repeated requests about the unspent retainer money, and moved to Maine without leaving contact information. When the client filed a grievance with the State Bar, she did not respond, leading to an earlier suspension. Because the State Bar could not personally serve her and she failed to respond even after being served by publication, Noriega-Allen was in default and lost her right to a hearing. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the admitted facts and the aggravating factors, including a dishonest motive and indifference to repaying the client, and decided disbarment was the appropriate punishment.

The court held that disbarment was the appropriate sanction because Noriega-Allen's admitted misconduct, including failing to account for client funds, abandoning her client's interests, and ignoring bar proceedings, involved violations for which disbarment is the maximum penalty and aggravating factors outweighed the single mitigating factor.

The ruling removes Noriega-Allen from the rolls of Georgia attorneys, ending her ability to practice law in the state and protecting future clients from similar mishandling of retainer funds and abandonment of legal matters.

Disbarred

1. Because Noriega-Allen failed to respond after being properly served by publication under the Bar's service rules, she was in default, meaning the facts alleged against her were treated as admitted and she gave up her right to an evidentiary hearing.
2. The admitted facts showed she failed to pursue attorney fees for her client, missed a related court hearing, ignored requests about unspent retainer funds, and disappeared without contact information, supporting findings of probable cause on multiple Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct violations.
3. The Disciplinary Board applied the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, a framework courts use to weigh aggravating and mitigating factors, and found aggravating factors including a dishonest or selfish motive, multiple offenses, substantial experience practicing law, and indifference to making restitution.
4. Only one mitigating factor was found, the absence of a prior disciplinary record, which was not enough to outweigh the aggravating factors and the seriousness of the violations, several of which carry disbarment as the maximum possible sanction.
5. Weighing these findings, the court concluded that disbarment, rather than a lesser sanction like reprimand, was the appropriate response to protect clients and the integrity of the legal profession.

• attorney disbarment
• State Bar of Georgia
• client retainer funds
• divorce representation
• default discipline