In the Matter of Steven Ryan Webster

Steven Ryan Webster, a Georgia lawyer since 1992, asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept the voluntary surrender of his law license before the State Bar filed formal charges against him. His request covered five separate disciplinary matters, mostly involving real estate closings where he was supposed to hold and pay out client money. In each case, Webster failed to safeguard funds he was holding for clients: bounced checks, missing insurance payments, an unremitted title insurance premiums, and moving trust account money into his firm's operating account for business expenses. He admitted violating Georgia's rules requiring lawyers to safeguard client funds and keep accurate trust account records. The State Bar agreed that surrender of his license was the appropriate outcome, noting his lack of prior discipline as a mitigating factor but citing his selfish motive and pattern of multiple offenses as aggravating factors. The court accepted the surrender, which is treated as disbarment.

The court held that Webster's admitted violations of the trust account safekeeping rules, including failing to safeguard client funds, failing to maintain accurate records, and using trust funds for personal business expenses, warranted accepting his voluntary surrender of license, which is treated as disbarment.

The case shows how Georgia disciplines lawyers who mishandle client trust funds in real estate closings, reassuring the public that such misconduct carries serious consequences, while also flagging risks for clients whose closing funds pass through an attorney's trust account.

Voluntary surrender of license accepted (tantamount to disbarment)

1. Webster filed a petition for voluntary discipline before any formal complaint was issued, admitting to violations across five separate State Bar disciplinary matters involving real estate closings.
2. He admitted violating Rule 1.15 (I) (a) and (c), which requires lawyers to safeguard client and third-party funds and keep complete financial records, by failing to promptly pay out funds, bouncing checks, and ignoring requests for accountings.
3. He also admitted violating Rule 1.15 (II) (b), which governs trust account recordkeeping, by moving trust account money into his firm's operating account to pay business expenses and failing to track exact balances owed to each client.
4. The court weighed mitigating factors, such as Webster's lack of any prior discipline, against aggravating factors including a selfish motive, a pattern of misconduct, and multiple separate offenses, drawing on the American Bar Association's Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions.
5. The court noted that its own past decisions disciplining similar trust account violations under Rule 1.15 have resulted in disbarment or its equivalent, supporting acceptance of Webster's proposed surrender.

• attorney discipline
• trust account violations
• voluntary surrender of license
• real estate closing funds
• State Bar of Georgia