--- title: In the Matter of Andrew David Taylor collection: opinions id: S20Y0815 cite_as: In the Matter of Andrew David Taylor, 308 Ga. 490 (2020) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0815 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0815.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0815/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10367534/in-the-matter-of-andrew-david-taylor/ date: 2020-04-06 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/S20Y0814.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20A0218.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1378 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0815.md?full=1 docket: S20Y0815 citation: 308 Ga. 490 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Disbarred vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 469 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 841 S.E.2d 661 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10367534" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Andrew David Taylor Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S20Y0815, filed 2020-04-06, 308 Ga. 490. ## Opinion 308 Ga. 490 FINAL COPY S20Y0815. IN THE MATTER OF ANDREW DAVID TAYLOR. PER CURIAM. This reciprocal discipline matter is before the Court on the State Disciplinary Review Board’s February 3, 2020 report and recommendation that this Court disbar Andrew David Taylor (State Bar No. 940522) from the practice of law in Georgia. See Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 9.4 (b). The reciprocal proceeding arises from Taylor’s disbarment from the practice of law in Nevada. The State Bar of Georgia properly served Taylor with a notice of reciprocal discipline, see Bar Rule 4-203.1, but he failed to acknowledge service and did not file any response or objection to the imposition of reciprocal discipline. Taylor was admitted to practice law in Nevada in 2004 and has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2009. On July 5, 2019, he was disbarred from the practice of law in Nevada by the Supreme Court of Nevada. The Nevada Court determined that Taylor misappropriated more than one million dollars of clients’ funds, commingled personal funds with clients’ funds, and opened numerous law firms with different trust and operating accounts to mislead the Nevada Bar and his clients, in violation of multiple disciplinary rules. In addition, the Nevada Court determined that Taylor entered into litigation-advancement loan agreements on behalf of his clients without their knowledge or consent, used the funds for his personal and business expenses, and failed to repay many of the loans. The Nevada Court also determined that in responding to the disciplinary matters, Taylor failed to comply with reasonable requests for information from the Nevada Bar and made false statements of material fact to the Nevada Bar. Based on a review of the disciplinary procedures and rules in Nevada and the corresponding disciplinary procedures and rules in Georgia, the Review Board concluded that disbarment is an appropriate level of discipline in Georgia for similar misconduct and found no basis for recommending anything other than substantially similar discipline. See Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 9.4 (b) (3) (i)-(vi). Thus, it recommends that Taylor be disbarred from the practice of law in Georgia. Having reviewed the record, we agree with the Review Board that disbarment is the appropriate sanction in this reciprocal discipline matter. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the name of Andrew David Taylor be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Taylor is reminded of his 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 APRIL 6, 2020. Disbarment. Paula J. Frederick, General Counsel State Bar, William D. NeSmith III, Deputy General Counsel State Bar, Jenny K. Mittelman, Andreea N. Morrison, 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 an attorney reciprocally after he was disbarred in Nevada for misappropriating more than a million dollars in client funds and misleading Nevada bar officials. ### Plain-language summary Andrew David Taylor was a Georgia lawyer, admitted to practice in Georgia since 2009 and in Nevada since 2004. The Supreme Court of Nevada disbarred him after finding he misappropriated more than a million dollars of clients' money, mixed his own funds with client funds, and opened multiple law firms with separate accounts to hide what he was doing from the Nevada bar and his clients. He also arranged loans on clients' behalf without telling them, spent the money himself, and lied to Nevada bar investigators. Because Georgia treats disbarment in another state as grounds for the same discipline here, the State Bar of Georgia served Taylor with notice of a reciprocal discipline proceeding. He never responded. The State Disciplinary Review Board reviewed Nevada's rules and Georgia's rules and found them similar enough to recommend disbarment. The Supreme Court of Georgia agreed and ordered Taylor's name removed from the rolls of lawyers allowed to practice in the state. ### Holding, as summarized Where a lawyer has been disbarred in another state for serious misconduct and Georgia's disciplinary rules impose similar sanctions for similar conduct, reciprocal disbarment in Georgia is appropriate, especially when the lawyer does not respond to the disciplinary notice. ### Disposition Disbarred. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The decision protects Georgia clients by removing a lawyer already found to have stolen client money and deceived bar regulators in another state. It also shows how Georgia's reciprocal discipline process quickly mirrors serious sanctions imposed by sister states' bars. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,378 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S20Y0815.md?full=1