In THE MATTER OF ESTON WILLIAM HOOD, JR. (Two Cases)

Eston William Hood, Jr., a Georgia lawyer since 2009, faced two disciplinary cases. In one, he appeared in court for a client while his law license was suspended, falsely claimed a family emergency to opposing counsel and a courtroom deputy, and later gave the Bar a misleading excuse letter about it. In the other, he missed the only scheduled hearing in a client's lawsuit, which led to the case being dismissed, and then falsely told the Bar he had attended multiple hearings that never happened. Hood asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept a voluntary discipline petition and suspend him for six months, though he said he would accept up to two years. A Special Master and the State Disciplinary Review Board recommended a one-year suspension. The Supreme Court of Georgia agreed Hood violated multiple ethics rules but decided one year was not enough punishment given his dishonesty to the Bar and his prior disciplinary history, so it imposed a two-year suspension instead.

The court held that a one-year suspension was insufficient discipline because Hood knowingly made false statements to the Bar in two separate matters and engaged in dishonest conduct, and because he had prior disciplinary history; since Hood agreed to accept up to a two-year suspension, the court imposed that sanction instead.

The ruling signals that Georgia lawyers who lie to the Bar during disciplinary investigations, not just to clients or opposing counsel, face substantially harsher punishment, reinforcing that honesty in the disciplinary process itself is treated as a core professional duty by the state's highest court.

Petition for voluntary discipline accepted; two-year suspension imposed

1. The court applied the American Bar Association's Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, which weigh the duty violated, the lawyer's mental state, the harm caused, and any aggravating or mitigating factors, to decide the appropriate punishment.
2. Hood admitted violating rules against practicing law while suspended, making false statements to the Bar, engaging in dishonest conduct, and failing to diligently pursue a client's case, each of which the court found caused real harm to clients, courts, and the public.
3. The court noted Hood had a prior confidential discipline (a Formal Letter of Admonition) for similar conduct, and that this case involved two separate grievances, both of which counted against him as aggravating factors.
4. The court emphasized its precedent that lying to the Bar during a disciplinary investigation is treated as especially serious misconduct usually requiring a significant suspension, citing prior cases where similar dishonesty led to suspensions of 18 months to three years.
5. Because Hood's dishonesty toward the Bar in two separate matters combined with his disciplinary history made a one-year suspension too lenient, but Hood had agreed to accept up to two years, the court set the suspension at two years rather than disbarring him or accepting the shorter term.

• attorney suspension
• State Bar of Georgia
• legal ethics violations
• false statements to the Bar
• voluntary discipline petition