In the Matter of Destin Michelle Gillum

Destin Michelle Gillum, a Georgia attorney admitted to the State Bar in 2020, took on six clients in family law matters including divorces, custody disputes, and child support cases. In each case she collected fees ranging from $2,500 to $9,000, then stopped communicating, failed to file necessary paperwork, missed hearings, and in one case lied to a client about having filed discovery responses. When clients asked for refunds or their case files, Gillum refused or ignored them, and when they filed grievances with the State Bar, she never responded. The State Bar filed a formal complaint, but Gillum could not be personally served and did not respond even after being served by publication. A Special Master reviewed the facts, deemed admitted through her default, and recommended disbarment. The Supreme Court of Georgia agreed, finding that Gillum violated multiple rules of professional conduct and that disbarment was the appropriate sanction given the pattern of abandonment and dishonesty.

The court held that disbarment is the appropriate sanction where an attorney, through default, is deemed to have abandoned six clients, collected unreasonable fees, made a dishonest statement to a client, and repeatedly failed to respond to State Bar investigations, violating multiple rules of professional conduct.

Georgians who hired Gillum for family law matters lost thousands of dollars and faced legal setbacks, including a contempt motion, because she abandoned their cases. The ruling removes her from practicing law in Georgia and signals that attorneys who abandon clients and stonewall Bar investigations face disbarment.

Disbarred

1. Because Gillum failed to answer the State Bar's formal complaint even after being served by publication, the Special Master entered a default, meaning the factual allegations in the complaint were deemed admitted for purposes of discipline.
2. Applying the American Bar Association Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, which direct courts to weigh the duty violated, the lawyer's mental state, the injury caused, and aggravating or mitigating factors, the Special Master found Gillum knowingly abandoned six clients and, in one matter, acted dishonestly by falsely telling a client she had filed discovery responses.
3. The court found Gillum caused serious injury by charging fees for work she never completed and leaving clients exposed to court sanctions, including a contempt motion, while also failing to return unearned fees or client files as required by Rule 1.16(d).
4. In aggravation, the court weighed Gillum's pattern of misconduct across six matters, her bad-faith obstruction of the disciplinary process, her refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing, and her indifference to making restitution, finding these factors substantially outweighed the limited mitigating factors of no prior discipline and inexperience.
5. Comparing the case to prior Georgia disbarment decisions involving attorneys who abandoned multiple clients under similar rule violations, the court concluded disbarment was consistent with precedent and the presumptive discipline for this pattern of conduct.

• attorney disbarment
• State Bar of Georgia
• client abandonment
• unreasonable fees
• default judgment