In THE MATTER OF JOSEPH HAROLD TURNER, JR. (Two Cases)

The State Bar of Georgia brought two disciplinary cases against attorney Joseph Harold Turner, Jr. In one case, Turner settled a civil claim for a client, deposited the settlement check, but never paid the client her share or answered her questions or the Bar's inquiries. In the other, Wells Fargo Bank alerted the Bar that Turner's attorney trust account had overdrawn, and Turner again failed to respond to the Bar's requests for information. Because Turner could not be personally served, the Bar published notice of the charges as its rules allow, and Turner still never responded, putting him in default and treating the Bar's factual claims as admitted. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the admitted facts, found Turner violated multiple rules governing client funds and cooperation with the Bar, and ordered him disbarred, following similar past cases involving mishandled client money.

The court held that disbarment was the appropriate sanction because Turner, by default, was deemed to have violated multiple rules involving failure to safeguard and disburse client funds, mismanagement of his trust account, and repeated failure to cooperate with Bar investigations.

The ruling removes an attorney from practice for mishandling client settlement funds and his trust account, protecting future clients from similar harm and reinforcing that Georgia lawyers who ignore Bar investigations and misuse client money face the most severe professional sanction.

Disbarred

1. Because Turner could not be reached by mail or personal service, the Bar served him by publication under its rules, and his failure to respond put him in default, meaning the Bar's factual allegations were treated as admitted and he gave up his right to a hearing.
2. In the first case, the admitted facts showed Turner settled a client's claim, deposited the funds, but never paid the client or responded to her or the Bar, violating rules requiring diligence, communication, prompt delivery of client funds, and cooperation with disciplinary investigators.
3. In the second case, the admitted facts showed Turner's trust account (a special bank account lawyers must use to hold client money separately from their own) overdrew, and he failed to respond to the bank's overdraft notice or the Bar's investigation, violating rules requiring accurate trust account records and proper account designation.
4. The court noted that several of the violated rules carry disbarment as the maximum possible sanction, and that Turner's dishonest or selfish motive and his experience as a lawyer counted against him, with no mitigating factors identified.
5. Comparing Turner's conduct to prior cases where attorneys were disbarred for similar mishandling of client settlement funds and trust accounts, the court concluded disbarment was the fitting sanction here as well.

• attorney disbarment
• trust account overdraft
• settlement funds
• State Bar of Georgia discipline