In the Matter of Matthew A. Bryan

Matthew Alexander Bryan was a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2007 and also became licensed in Montana in 2018. In Montana, he had prepared a trust for a Georgia resident, and after the person who created the trust died, a beneficiary spent years trying to track Bryan down and get information about the trust, which held about $398,000. Bryan stalled for years with excuses and never accounted for the money. Montana's disciplinary authorities also found he falsely advertised that he was expanding into Wyoming, where he was not licensed. The Supreme Court of Montana disbarred him in 2019. Because Georgia treats another state's discipline as grounds for matching discipline here, the State Bar of Georgia's Review Board recommended disbarment in Georgia too. Bryan could not be found for personal service, was served by publication, and never objected. The Supreme Court of Georgia agreed disbarment was appropriate and removed him from the rolls of Georgia lawyers.

The Supreme Court of Georgia held that reciprocal discipline was warranted because Bryan's Montana disbarment, based on his mishandling of trust funds and dishonest conduct, would also violate Georgia's disciplinary rules, and disbarment did not exceed the discipline Georgia allows for similar misconduct.

Georgians who hired Bryan or relied on him for trust or estate matters can no longer be represented by him, and people who lost money because of his conduct may be able to seek reimbursement from Georgia's Client Security Fund, which helps victims of dishonest lawyers.

Disbarred

1. Under Georgia's reciprocal discipline rule (Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 9.4(b)), when a lawyer is disciplined in another state, Georgia can impose similar discipline unless the lawyer objects or shows reasons why it should not apply.
2. Bryan was served notice of the Georgia reciprocal proceeding by publication after he could not be located for personal service, and he neither objected to the notice nor filed exceptions to the Review Board's report, leaving the underlying facts unchallenged.
3. The Review Board reviewed Montana's disciplinary procedures and the record from Montana's case, which found Bryan failed for years to provide a beneficiary with information or funds from a trust worth about $398,000 and falsely advertised practicing law in Wyoming.
4. The Review Board concluded this misconduct would also violate Georgia's disciplinary rules and that disbarment, the sanction Montana imposed, did not exceed what Georgia allows for comparable misconduct, so reciprocal disbarment was appropriate.
5. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the record, agreed with the Review Board's conclusions, and ordered Bryan removed from the rolls of Georgia attorneys.

• attorney disbarment
• reciprocal discipline
• trust mismanagement
• State Bar of Georgia
• Montana disbarment