Supreme Court of Georgia · bar discipline

In the Matter of Debra Kaye Scott

Filed January 18, 2023 · Docket S22Y0508 · 883 S.E.2d 317

The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney Debra Kaye Scott from practicing law after she repeatedly failed to show up to receive a disciplinary reprimand the court had already ordered.

In plain language

Debra Kaye Scott is a Georgia lawyer who admitted to violating professional conduct rules by failing to properly communicate with clients and by mishandling fee arrangements. In April 2022 the Supreme Court of Georgia accepted her request for discipline and ordered that she receive a formal reprimand from the State Disciplinary Review Board rather than a harsher punishment. The problem was that Scott never showed up. Despite being notified multiple times of the dates and times set for her reprimand, she did not appear. The State Bar asked the court to suspend her law license until she finally attends and receives the reprimand. The court agreed, suspending Scott from practicing law starting immediately and continuing until she appears, is reprimanded, and the State Bar confirms this to the court.

What the court decided

An attorney who repeatedly fails to appear for a previously ordered disciplinary reprimand may be suspended from the practice of law until she appears and the reprimand is actually administered, with reinstatement contingent on the State Bar confirming compliance.

Why it matters

Georgia lawyers who ignore disciplinary proceedings can lose their ability to practice law entirely until they comply, which protects clients from attorneys who avoid accountability and reinforces that court-ordered discipline is not optional or something to be dodged.

Outcome

Suspended until reprimand administered

How the court got there

The court had already accepted Scott's petition for voluntary discipline in April 2022 and ordered her to receive a State Disciplinary Review Board reprimand for admitted violations of two Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct governing client communication and fee agreements.
Scott was notified on several occasions of the specific dates and times to appear for her reprimand but failed to appear each time, leaving the previously ordered discipline unadministered.
Under State Bar Rule 4-109, which allows suspension when a lawyer fails to complete an ordered disciplinary step, the court concluded suspension was warranted to compel Scott's compliance.
The court structured the suspension to last only until Scott appears for and receives the reprimand and the State Bar confirms this to the court, at which point the State Bar must move to lift the suspension.

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