In the Matter of Brandon Andrew Cline

Brandon Andrew Cline, a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2003, admitted to taking out several loans and depositing that money into his lawyer trust account, an account meant to hold client and third-party funds separately from personal money. He then used the money for personal and business expenses and let automatic debits from creditors cause repeated overdrafts in the account. Cline also admitted that after taking on a client who wanted to fight a traffic citation, he skipped a scheduled hearing, which led to a warrant for the client's arrest, and then failed to properly follow up or stay in touch with the client. Facing possible disbarment for these violations of the state's rules for lawyers, Cline asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept his voluntary surrender of his law license, which counts the same as being disbarred. A special master and the State Bar both recommended acceptance, and the court agreed.

The court held that accepting Cline's voluntary surrender of his law license, which is treated the same as disbarment, was in the best interests of the State Bar and the public given his admitted misuse of trust account funds and abandonment of a client, and was consistent with how the court has handled similar past cases.

The decision permanently removes Cline from the rolls of Georgia lawyers, protecting future clients from similar mishandling of trust funds or abandonment. It also reinforces for the legal profession that misusing client trust accounts and neglecting clients can lead to loss of a law license.

Voluntary surrender of license accepted

1. Cline admitted violating Rules 1.15(I)(a) and 1.15(II)(b), which govern how lawyers must hold and handle client and third-party funds in a trust account, by using loan money deposited there for personal and business expenses.
2. Cline separately admitted violating Rules 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4(a), and 1.4(b), which govern a lawyer's duty to competently handle a client's case and stay in communication, by missing a hearing that led to a client's arrest warrant and then failing to follow up with the client.
3. Because violations of the trust account rules and the client-abandonment rules can each carry disbarment as the maximum punishment, Cline asked to voluntarily surrender his license rather than face formal disciplinary proceedings, a step the court treats as equivalent to disbarment.
4. The special master overseeing the case and the State Bar itself both recommended that the court accept the surrender petition after reviewing Cline's admissions.
5. The court compared Cline's admissions to prior cases involving similar trust account misuse and client abandonment, finding that accepting the surrender was consistent with how those cases were resolved and served the interests of the Bar and the public.

• attorney discipline
• trust account misuse
• client abandonment
• voluntary license surrender
• State Bar of Georgia