In the Matter of Je'nita Lane

Je'Nita Lane, a lawyer who had practiced in Georgia since 2011, admitted mishandling client money in two separate matters. In one case, she had settlement funds meant to pay off a couple's Medicaid lien but withdrew money from her trust account before the lien was paid, leaving it unsatisfied and her account short. In another matter, her trust account was overdrawn by more than $65,000 after she took money for personal and business use, and while it was overdrawn she deposited settlement checks into her firm's regular business account instead of the trust account. Before the State Bar filed formal charges, Lane asked to voluntarily surrender her law license, which under Bar rules counts the same as disbarment. The State Bar recommended the Supreme Court of Georgia accept that request, and the court agreed, ordering her removed from the rolls of lawyers allowed to practice in Georgia.

The court held that voluntary surrender of a law license, which is treated the same as disbarment, was appropriate given Lane's admitted violations of multiple trust account and diligence rules, including failing to safeguard settlement funds and improperly withdrawing client money for personal use.

Clients rely on lawyers to safely hold settlement money owed to third parties like Medicaid or medical providers. This case shows the serious consequences, loss of a law license, for attorneys who dip into client trust accounts for personal use, reinforcing protections for clients' funds statewide.

Voluntary surrender of license accepted; removed from the rolls

1. Lane admitted violating several Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, including Rule 1.3 (requiring a lawyer to act with reasonable diligence and not abandon a client's matter) and multiple trust-account rules under Rule 1.15 that require client and third-party funds to be kept separate, safeguarded, and promptly delivered.
2. In one matter, Lane held settlement money in her trust account meant to satisfy a Medicaid lien for former clients but withdrew funds before the lien was paid, leaving the lien unsatisfied and insufficient funds remaining to cover it.
3. In a second matter, Lane's trust account became overdrawn by tens of thousands of dollars after she withdrew funds for personal and business purposes, and she compounded the problem by depositing settlement checks into her firm's operating account rather than the required trust account while the trust account was overdrawn.
4. The court noted that disbarment is the maximum penalty for violating each of the rules Lane admitted breaking, and compared her conduct to prior cases where the court accepted voluntary surrender or imposed disbarment for similar trust account failures.
5. Because Lane's admissions matched the pattern of misconduct addressed in those prior disciplinary cases, the court concluded that accepting her voluntary surrender, which functions as disbarment, was the appropriate outcome.

• attorney disbarment
• trust account violations
• Medicaid lien
• voluntary surrender of license
• State Bar discipline