--- title: In the Matter of Jeffrey Bull Grable collection: opinions id: S21Y0603 cite_as: In the Matter of Jeffrey Bull Grable, 310 Ga. 861 (2021) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0603 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0603.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0603/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10367867/in-the-matter-of-jeffrey-bull-grable/ date: 2021-02-15 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/2021.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0468.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0158.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1495 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0603.md?full=1 docket: S21Y0603 citation: 310 Ga. 861 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Voluntary surrender of license accepted vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 487 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 854 S.E.2d 727 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10367867" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Jeffrey Bull Grable Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S21Y0603, filed 2021-02-15, 310 Ga. 861. ## Opinion 310 Ga. 861 FINAL COPY S21Y0603. IN THE MATTER OF JEFFREY BULL GRABLE. PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the petition of Jeffrey Bull Grable (State Bar No. 303870) for voluntary surrender of license prior to the issuance of a formal complaint, brought pursuant to Bar Rule 4-227 (b) (2). Grable, who has been a State Bar member since 1997, is currently under administrative suspension for failure to pay dues and complete Continuing Legal Education requirements. Grable admits that he represented an individual client in a dispute with her business co-owner and agreed to prepare and file a lawsuit on the client’s behalf, which he did not complete. When the co-owner sued the client instead, he agreed to file a counterclaim, which he did not complete and file, and a sizable judgment was eventually entered against the client. Grable became aware of the judgment, but failed to advise his client. Grable admits that his conduct violated Rules 1.2 (a), 1.3, and 1.4 (a) (3) 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) and 1.3 is disbarment, and the maximum sanction for a violation of Rule 1.4 (a) (3) is a public reprimand. Grable further admits that he was suspended from the practice of law for six months in 2005 based on similar conduct. See In the Matter of Grable, 279 Ga. 1 (607 SE2d 554) (2005). The State Bar has filed a response, in which it recommends that the Court accept Grable’s voluntary surrender of license. It stipulates to the facts as set forth in Grable’s petition and states that the requested discipline level, which is tantamount to disbarment, is appropriate in light of the severity of his admitted conduct and violations and the aggravating factors, as identified in the American Bar Association’s Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, involving his substantial experience in the practice of law and prior disciplinary misconduct. See ABA Standards 3.0 (factors generally); 4.41 (lack of diligence); 4.61 (lack of candor); 8.1 (prior disciplinary history); and 9.22 (aggravating factors). See also In the Matter of Morse, 266 Ga. 652, 652 (470 SE2d 232) (1996) (stating that this Court looks to the ABA Standards for guidance in determining the appropriate sanction). Having reviewed the petition, we agree to accept Grable’s petition for voluntary surrender of license. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the name of Jeffrey Bull Grable be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Grable is reminded of his duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. DECIDED FEBRUARY 15, 2021. Voluntary surrender of license. Paula J. Frederick, General Counsel State Bar, William D. NeSmith III, Deputy General Counsel State Bar, Jenny K. Mittelman, Wolanda R. Shelton, 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 accepted a Fulton-area lawyer's voluntary surrender of his law license after he admitted failing to file lawsuits for a client and then not telling her about a resulting judgment against her. ### Plain-language summary Jeffrey Bull Grable, a Georgia lawyer since 1997, agreed to represent a client in a business dispute with her co-owner. He promised to file a lawsuit on her behalf but never finished it. When the co-owner sued the client instead, Grable agreed to file a counterclaim defending her but again failed to complete and file it. A large judgment was eventually entered against the client, and even though Grable learned about it, he never told her. Grable asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept his voluntary surrender of his law license rather than face a formal disciplinary complaint. He admitted violating rules requiring diligence, communication, and following client instructions, and noted he had been suspended once before for similar conduct. The court reviewed the petition and the State Bar's response and agreed to accept the surrender, effectively removing him from the practice of law. ### Holding, as summarized The court held that voluntary surrender of a law license, treated as equivalent to disbarment, was an appropriate sanction given the lawyer's admitted failure to pursue his client's legal matters, his failure to inform her of an adverse judgment, and his prior similar disciplinary history. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The client in this case suffered a judgment against her without ever being told it happened, and lost her chance to fight it. The ruling shows how Georgia disciplines lawyers who abandon clients' cases, protecting the public by removing repeat offenders from practice. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,495 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0603.md?full=1