In the Matter of Austin O. Jones

Austin O. Jones, a lawyer who had been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2003, pleaded guilty in federal court in July 2024 to two felony counts of possessing child pornography. Before the State Bar filed a formal disciplinary complaint against him, Jones asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to let him voluntarily give up his license to practice law rather than go through disciplinary proceedings. Jones acknowledged that his felony conviction violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which make it misconduct for a lawyer to be convicted of a felony, including through a guilty plea. The maximum punishment for that rule violation is disbarment, and Jones agreed that surrendering his license amounts to the same thing. The State Bar told the court it supported accepting the petition. The court reviewed the record, agreed, and removed Jones from the rolls of people allowed to practice law in Georgia.

A lawyer convicted of a felony, including by guilty plea, violates the rule against felony convictions, and the maximum penalty is disbarment; the court accepted the lawyer's voluntary surrender of his license as equivalent to disbarment and removed him from the rolls of Georgia lawyers.

The decision permanently ends Jones's ability to practice law in Georgia without a full disciplinary hearing, protecting clients and the public from a lawyer convicted of a serious federal felony, and it shows how Georgia lawyers facing serious criminal convictions can resolve bar discipline matters quickly.

Voluntary surrender of license accepted

1. The court noted that Jones admitted pleading guilty to two federal felony charges of possessing child pornography, which under the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct (Rule 8.4(a)(2)) counts as a felony conviction because a guilty plea qualifies as a conviction under the rules.
2. Because a violation of that rule carries a maximum penalty of disbarment, Jones sought to voluntarily surrender his law license, which the rules treat as the same as being disbarred.
3. The court pointed to prior cases, In the Matter of Williams and In the Matter of Campbell, where it had accepted voluntary license surrenders from attorneys convicted of felonies under the same rule, showing this is an established path for resolving such cases.
4. The State Bar told the court it believed accepting the petition served the best interest of the public and the legal profession, and the court reviewed the record and agreed with that assessment.
5. Based on this reasoning, the court accepted the surrender and ordered Jones removed from the rolls of persons entitled to practice law in Georgia, while reminding him of his ongoing duties under the Bar rules governing former lawyers.

• attorney discipline
• license surrender
• felony conviction
• child pornography charges
• State Bar of Georgia