--- title: In the Matter of Marta Maria Noriega-Allen collection: opinions id: S20Y0421 cite_as: In the Matter of Marta Maria Noriega-Allen, 308 Ga. 398 (2020) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0421 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0421.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0421/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10367542/in-the-matter-of-marta-maria-noriega-allen/ date: 2020-03-26 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/2020.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20A0173.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20A0251.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1683 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0421.md?full=1 docket: S20Y0421 citation: 308 Ga. 398 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Disbarred vote: Melton, C. J., Nahmias, P. J., and Blackwell, Boggs, Peterson, Warren, Bethel, and Ellington, JJ., concur word_count: 629 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 841 S.E.2d 1 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10367542" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Marta Maria Noriega-Allen Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S20Y0421, filed 2020-03-26, 308 Ga. 398. ## Opinion 308 Ga. 398 FINAL COPY S20Y0421. IN THE MATTER OF MARTA MARIA NORIEGA-ALLEN. PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on a Notice of Discipline seeking the disbarment of Marta Maria Noriega-Allen (State Bar No. 356678), who was admitted to the Bar in 2007. The State Bar attempted to serve Noriega-Allen personally at the address listed with the State Bar, but the sheriff filed a return of service non est inventus. The State Bar then properly served her by publication pursuant to Bar Rule 4-203.1 (b) (3) (ii), but she failed to file a Notice of Rejection. Therefore, she is in default, has waived her right to an evidentiary hearing, and is subject to such discipline and further proceedings as may be determined by this Court. See Bar Rule 4-208.1 (b). The facts, as deemed admitted by virtue of Noriega-Allen’s default, show that a client retained her to represent him in a divorce action and paid her $29,922.50 in retainer funds. Initially, Noriega- Allen provided monthly invoices, which, as of September 2014, showed that she had earned $12,866. After the divorce matter settled in September 2015, the parties agreed to have the trial court decide the issue of attorney fees. However, Noriega-Allen failed to file a motion for fees on her client’s behalf, failed to respond to the motion for fees filed by her client’s ex-wife, failed to appear at the hearing on the issue of fees,1 failed to respond to her client’s numerous requests for information about the balance owed from the remaining retainer funds, failed to return or account for the unearned balance, and moved to Maine without providing contact information. After her client filed his grievance with the Bar, Noriega-Allen failed to respond to the grievance and failed to acknowledge service of the Notice of Investigation or respond to it. As a result of her failure to respond, this Court entered an order of 1 The State Bar’s Notice of Discipline does not indicate whether or not the client was harmed by Noriega-Allen’s failure to respond on his behalf on the issue of attorney fees in the divorce action. suspension. See In the Matter of Noriega-Allen, S20Y0043 (August 12, 2019). Based on these facts, the Disciplinary Board found probable cause to believe that Noriega-Allen violated Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.15 (I), 1.15 (II), 1.16 (d), and 3.2 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d). The maximum sanction for a violation of Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3, 1.15 (I), and 1.15 (II) is disbarment, and the maximum sanction for a violation of Rules 1.4, 1.5, 1.16 (d), and 3.2 is a public reprimand. The Board, relying on the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions as instructive, see In the Matter of Morse, 266 Ga. 652 (470 SE2d 232) (1996), found the following factors in aggravation: dishonest or selfish motive, multiple offenses, substantial experience in the practice of law, and indifference to making restitution, see ABA Standard 9.22 (b), (d), (i), and (j), and only one factor in mitigation: absence of a prior disciplinary record, see ABA Standard 9.32 (a). Having reviewed the record, we conclude that disbarment is the appropriate sanction in this matter. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the name of Marta Maria Noriega-Allen be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Noriega-Allen is reminded of her duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Disbarred. Melton, C. J., Nahmias, P. J., and Blackwell, Boggs, Peterson, Warren, Bethel, and Ellington, JJ., concur. DECIDED MARCH 26, 2020. Disbarment. 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. ## 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 disbarred attorney Marta Maria Noriega-Allen after she failed to respond to a State Bar disciplinary proceeding accusing her of abandoning a divorce client and mishandling his retainer funds. ### Plain-language summary A client hired Marta Maria Noriega-Allen, a Georgia attorney, to represent him in a divorce and paid her nearly $30,000 in retainer funds. After the divorce settled, Noriega-Allen failed to file for attorney fees on his behalf, missed a court hearing on fees, ignored his repeated requests about the unspent retainer money, and moved to Maine without leaving contact information. When the client filed a grievance with the State Bar, she did not respond, leading to an earlier suspension. Because the State Bar could not personally serve her and she failed to respond even after being served by publication, Noriega-Allen was in default and lost her right to a hearing. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the admitted facts and the aggravating factors, including a dishonest motive and indifference to repaying the client, and decided disbarment was the appropriate punishment. ### Holding, as summarized The court held that disbarment was the appropriate sanction because Noriega-Allen's admitted misconduct, including failing to account for client funds, abandoning her client's interests, and ignoring bar proceedings, involved violations for which disbarment is the maximum penalty and aggravating factors outweighed the single mitigating factor. ### Disposition Disbarred. Melton, C. J., Nahmias, P. J., and Blackwell, Boggs, Peterson, Warren, Bethel, and Ellington, JJ., concur. ### Why it matters The ruling removes Noriega-Allen from the rolls of Georgia attorneys, ending her ability to practice law in the state and protecting future clients from similar mishandling of retainer funds and abandonment of legal matters. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,683 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0421.md?full=1