In the Matter of Franklin David McCrea

Franklin David McCrea, a Georgia lawyer admitted to the State Bar in 1992, was accused in two separate complaints of failing his clients. In one case, he represented a man in a federal criminal matter, but after the client hired an appeals lawyer, McCrea never turned over the client's file, and the appeal was dismissed. In the other, McCrea took a flat fee to handle an uncontested divorce, promised his client the divorce would be finalized by a certain date, and then never finished the case, leaving the client to hire another attorney. McCrea largely stopped responding to the State Bar's investigations and to a special master appointed to review the complaints, missing deadlines and failing to show up for a hearing on possible mitigating evidence. Because he did not contest the facts or the sanction, the special master recommended disbarment, and the Supreme Court of Georgia agreed, ordering McCrea removed from the rolls of attorneys allowed to practice law in Georgia.

The court held that disbarment is the appropriate sanction for an attorney who abandoned two clients, violated multiple Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct including duties of diligence and communication, and failed to participate meaningfully in his own disciplinary proceedings.

The decision removes a lawyer from practice in Georgia after he left two clients without help during important legal matters, a criminal appeal and a divorce. It also signals to other Georgia attorneys that ignoring State Bar investigations and hearings can itself lead to the harshest possible discipline.

Disbarred

1. The special master found, based on McCrea's own admissions and his default in responding to the complaints, that he failed to turn over a client's file to new appellate counsel in a criminal case and never finalized a client's uncontested divorce despite promising to do so.
2. This conduct violated several Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct (GRPC), including rules requiring lawyers to consult with clients about their case, act with reasonable diligence, keep clients informed, respond to requests for information, protect client interests upon ending representation, and cooperate with disciplinary investigations.
3. Because two of those violated rules, covering client decision-making and diligence, carry disbarment as the maximum possible punishment, the special master weighed aggravating and mitigating factors under the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, a framework courts use to decide discipline.
4. The special master found aggravating factors of multiple offenses and McCrea's substantial experience practicing law, offset only by his lack of any prior disciplinary record, and concluded McCrea gave up his chance to present further mitigating evidence by ignoring efforts to schedule a hearing.
5. The Supreme Court of Georgia compared this case to prior disbarments of attorneys who similarly abandoned clients and failed to fully participate in their own disciplinary proceedings, and found disbarment consistent with that precedent.

• attorney disbarment
• client abandonment
• State Bar of Georgia
• legal ethics violations