In the Matter of Anthony O. Van Johnson

Anthony O. Van Johnson, a lawyer since 1996, admitted to serious misconduct involving three clients. He continued representing a personal injury client after being suspended from practicing law, then secretly settled her case, forged her signature on a $47,000 insurance check, cashed it, and stopped payment on a replacement check so she could not collect the money he owed her. He also took a $3,000 retainer from a divorce client but never filed her case or refunded the money, and he took payments from a criminal defense client but never filed an appearance or did meaningful work, later falsely denying he had ever represented her in a related juvenile case. A Special Master and the State Bar agreed that Van Johnson's admitted conduct violated multiple Rules of Professional Conduct, each carrying disbarment as the maximum penalty. Van Johnson asked to voluntarily surrender his license rather than face formal disbarment proceedings. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the record and agreed to accept that surrender, which counts as disbarment.

The court held that Van Johnson's admitted violations of multiple ethics rules, including forging a client's signature, converting client funds, and abandoning clients after taking payment, warranted accepting his voluntary surrender of his law license, which is treated the same as disbarment.

The decision removes a lawyer from practice in Georgia after he took client money, forged a signature, and abandoned cases, protecting future clients from similar harm. It also signals to the legal profession and the public that Georgia courts will strip licenses from lawyers who betray client trust for personal gain.

Voluntary surrender of license accepted (tantamount to disbarment)

1. The court noted that several of the rules Van Johnson admitted violating, including Rule 1.2(a) on following client decisions, Rule 1.3 on diligence, Rule 1.15(I) on safeguarding client funds, Rule 5.5(a) on practicing while suspended, and Rule 8.4(a)(4) on dishonest conduct, each carry disbarment as the maximum penalty.
2. The court applied the American Bar Association's Standards for Imposing Lawyer Discipline, which generally call for disbarment when a lawyer knowingly fails to perform services or deceives a client for personal benefit and causes serious harm.
3. The court weighed mitigating factors, such as Van Johnson's full disclosure and cooperation with the disciplinary board, against aggravating factors including prior discipline, dishonest motive, a pattern of misconduct involving multiple clients, and indifference to repaying the money he took.
4. The court compared Van Johnson's conduct to prior disbarment cases involving similar misconduct, such as a lawyer who forged a client's signature on a settlement check and a lawyer who practiced while suspended and failed to refund unearned fees, finding the same result appropriate here.
5. Because voluntary surrender of a law license is treated as equivalent to disbarment under the Rules, the court concluded that accepting Van Johnson's petition achieved the goals of punishing the offender, deterring other lawyers, and reassuring the public that courts enforce professional ethics.

• attorney disbarment
• voluntary surrender of license
• forged settlement check
• client fund misappropriation
• State Bar discipline