In the Matter of Richard H. Middleton, Jr

Richard H. Middleton, Jr., a Georgia attorney since 1977, represented a woman injured in a car crash near Savannah. He settled her lawsuit for $100,000 in 2020 and placed the money in his trust account while a separate workers' compensation case in South Carolina was resolved. Once that case settled in March 2021, Middleton was told he could release the funds, but he refused despite repeated requests from the client and her South Carolina attorney. Middleton admitted he did not have enough money in the trust account to pay them because he had been gradually withdrawing the settlement funds for his own use. Before the State Bar filed formal charges, he asked to voluntarily surrender his law license, admitting he violated Georgia's rules on safeguarding client funds. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the admissions and the State Bar's recommendation and agreed to accept the surrender, which counts the same as disbarment.

An attorney who admits to failing to promptly deliver settlement funds to a client and third party and to improperly withdrawing unearned client funds from his trust account for personal use, in violation of Rules 1.15(I)(c) and 1.15(II)(b), may have his petition for voluntary surrender of license accepted, a result treated as equivalent to disbarment.

The case reinforces that Georgia lawyers who mishandle client trust account funds, even if they eventually repay the money, face losing their law license. It signals to clients and other attorneys how seriously the State Bar and the court treat trust account violations.

Voluntary surrender of license accepted

1. The court noted that a violation of either Rule 1.15(I)(c) (requiring prompt delivery of client funds) or Rule 1.15(II)(b) (requiring only earned fees be withdrawn from a trust account) can result in disbarment as the maximum sanction.
2. Middleton admitted he kept settlement funds in his trust account, called an IOLTA account, and refused to disburse them to the client or her South Carolina attorney even after being told he could release the money.
3. He further admitted the shortfall existed because he had incrementally withdrawn the settlement proceeds for personal use without providing an accounting, confirming violations of both rules.
4. The court compared this case to prior similar attorney discipline matters, including In the Matter of Bunch and In the Matter of Dabney-Froe, where voluntary surrender of license was accepted for comparable trust account violations.
5. Because the State Bar reviewed and recommended acceptance based on Middleton's admissions, and the court found the record supported those admissions, it accepted the petition for voluntary surrender of license as equivalent to disbarment.

• attorney discipline
• trust account violation
• voluntary surrender of license
• State Bar of Georgia
• settlement funds mishandling