In the Matter of John Weimann Oxendine

John Weimann Oxendine, a Georgia lawyer since 1987, pleaded guilty in March 2024 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, a federal felony. A federal court sentenced him to 42 months in prison, three years of supervised release, fines, and more than $750,000 in restitution. Oxendine asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept his voluntary surrender of his law license, admitting that his felony conviction violated the rule against lawyers being convicted of felonies. The State Bar of Georgia did not object and said accepting the petition served the public interest. The court agreed, finding the surrender consistent with how it has handled similar cases, and removed Oxendine from the rolls of lawyers permitted to practice in Georgia.

A lawyer convicted of a felony violates Georgia's rule against felony convictions, and when such a lawyer petitions to voluntarily surrender his license, treated as equivalent to disbarment, the court will accept it if doing so serves the interests of the Bar and the public.

The decision permanently removes a convicted felon from the practice of law in Georgia, protecting clients and the public from being represented by someone convicted of fraud. It also shows how the Bar disciplinary system handles lawyers convicted of serious federal crimes.

Voluntary surrender of license accepted

1. Georgia's professional conduct rules (Rule 8.4(a)(2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct) prohibit a lawyer from being convicted of a felony, and Bar Rule 4-106 sets the procedures for handling discipline tied to such convictions.
2. Oxendine admitted that his federal guilty plea to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, a felony, made him subject to those rules and exposed him to a maximum penalty of disbarment.
3. Voluntary surrender of a law license is treated as the equivalent of disbarment under the Bar's rules, so the court evaluated the petition as it would a disbarment case.
4. The State Bar of Georgia did not oppose the petition and said accepting it would serve the best interests of the public and the legal profession.
5. The court reviewed the record and found the surrender consistent with how it has resolved similar past cases involving felony convictions, and accepted the petition, removing Oxendine from the rolls of Georgia attorneys.

• attorney disbarment
• health care fraud
• voluntary license surrender
• felony conviction
• State Bar of Georgia