In the Matter of Kathleen Strang

Kathleen Strang was a court-appointed lawyer representing indigent clients in criminal cases, including a man convicted of murder and another convicted of enticing a child. Across four separate client matters, she repeatedly failed to communicate with her clients, missed court dates, requested unnecessary delays, and in one case failed to file a supplemental brief a client specifically asked her to submit. She also ignored the State Bar's investigation into her conduct. Because Strang never answered the State Bar's formal complaints, a Special Master found her in default, meaning the facts against her were treated as admitted. The Special Master recommended disbarment, and the Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed that recommendation. The court agreed that Strang's pattern of abandoning vulnerable, incarcerated clients and refusing to participate in the disciplinary process warranted the most serious sanction available: removal from the practice of law in Georgia.

The court held that disbarment was the appropriate sanction because Strang, through her default, admitted to knowingly failing her duties of diligence, communication, and consultation across four client matters, causing serious injury to vulnerable, incarcerated clients and to the legal profession.

The ruling removes a lawyer who left incarcerated, indigent clients without communication or advocacy for months or years, some facing serious felony and murder-related proceedings. It signals to Georgia lawyers that abandoning appointed clients and ignoring Bar investigations will result in disbarment, protecting future indigent defendants relying on appointed counsel.

Disbarred

1. Because Strang never answered the State Bar's formal complaints, the Special Master entered a default against her, meaning the factual allegations in the complaints were treated as admitted for purposes of the case.
2. The Special Master applied the American Bar Association Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, which direct courts to weigh the duty violated, the lawyer's mental state, the harm caused, and any aggravating or mitigating factors.
3. Applying that framework, the Special Master found Strang violated duties of diligence and communication (Rules 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4(a) and (b), 3.2, and 9.3) by abandoning cases, missing deadlines and court dates, and ignoring the Bar's investigation.
4. The Special Master found Strang's conduct was knowing rather than merely negligent, since she understood her obligations to her clients and the courts but chose not to fulfill them, and that her clients, who were incarcerated and indigent, suffered serious injury including delayed cases and inability to learn their case status.
5. Aggravating factors, including a pattern of misconduct, multiple offenses, refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing, vulnerable victims, and substantial legal experience, outweighed the single mitigating factor of no prior discipline.
6. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the record and agreed that disbarment matched the sanction imposed in prior similar default cases involving comparable rule violations and client abandonment.

• attorney disbarment
• State Bar of Georgia
• indigent defense
• client abandonment
• default judgment