--- title: In the Matter of Muhammad Abdul-Warit Abdur-Rahim collection: opinions id: S20Y0209/10680162 cite_as: In the Matter of Muhammad Abdul-Warit Abdur-Rahim, 315 Ga. 586 (2023) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0209/10680162 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0209/10680162.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0209/10680162/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10680162/in-the-matter-of-muhammad-abdul-warit-abdur-rahim/ date: 2023-02-08 status: published corpus_version: opinions-2026-09-14 license: Public record of the Supreme Court of Georgia, via CourtListener and the court's own website; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/2023.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22A0962.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S22G0030.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1257 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0209/10680162.md?full=1 docket: S20Y0209 citation: 315 Ga. 586 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Suspended until reprimand administered vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 241 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 884 S.E.2d 99 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10680162" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Muhammad Abdul-Warit Abdur-Rahim Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S20Y0209, filed 2023-02-08, 315 Ga. 586. ## Opinion 315 Ga. 586 FINAL COPY S20Y0209. IN THE MATTER OF MUHAMMAD ABDUL-WARIT ABDUR-RAHIM. PER CURIAM. This matter is before the Court on the State Bar’s motion for suspension of Respondent Muhammad Abdul-Warit Abdur-Rahim (State Bar No. 560822). On April 6, 2020, this Court accepted Abdur- Rahim’s petition for voluntary discipline and ordered Abdur-Rahim to receive a State Disciplinary Review Board reprimand for his admitted violation of Rule 3.5 (d) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. See In the Matter of Abdur-Rahim, 308 Ga. 485 (841 SE2d 666) (2020). Although Abdur-Rahim was notified to appear for the reprimand, he failed to appear at the date and time specified for the reprimand. Therefore, the Court hereby suspends Abdur-Rahim from the practice of law from the date of this opinion until such time as the reprimand is administered. See Bar Rule 4- 109. Once Abdur-Rahim appears for and is administered the reprimand and the State Bar confirms that Abdur-Rahim received his reprimand, the State Bar is directed to file a motion in this Court to lift the suspension. Abdur-Rahim is reminded of his duties under Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Suspended until reprimand administered. All the Justices concur. Decided February 8, 2023. Suspension. Paula J. Frederick, General Counsel State Bar, William D. NeSmith III, Deputy General Counsel State Bar, Jenny K. Mittelman, James S. Lewis, Assistant General Counsel State Bar, for State Bar of Georgia. Lawson & Thornton, George O. Lawson, Jr., for Abdur-Rahim. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the opinion above and is not part of the court's opinion. Quote the opinion, not the summary. The Supreme Court of Georgia suspended attorney Muhammad Abdul-Warit Abdur-Rahim from practicing law after he failed to show up to receive a disciplinary reprimand the court had already ordered. ### Plain-language summary Muhammad Abdul-Warit Abdur-Rahim is a Georgia lawyer who admitted violating a rule of professional conduct dealing with communicating with represented parties. Back in April 2020, the Supreme Court of Georgia accepted his request for voluntary discipline and ordered him to receive a formal reprimand from the State Disciplinary Review Board, a lighter form of punishment than suspension or disbarment. Abdur-Rahim was told when and where to show up for that reprimand, but he did not appear. Because he skipped the reprimand, the State Bar asked the court to suspend him from practicing law. The court agreed and suspended him effective immediately, with the suspension to last until he actually appears for and receives the reprimand and the State Bar confirms that to the court. ### Holding, as summarized Because Abdur-Rahim failed to appear for the reprimand the court had already ordered, the court suspended him from practicing law effective immediately, with the suspension to remain in place until he appears for the reprimand and the State Bar confirms it was administered. ### Disposition Suspended until reprimand administered. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The ruling means Abdur-Rahim cannot practice law in Georgia until he completes a simple administrative step: showing up for his reprimand. It also signals to other Georgia lawyers that ignoring scheduled discipline proceedings carries its own separate consequence. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,257 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0209/10680162.md?full=1