--- title: In the Matter of Majd M. Ghanayem collection: opinions id: S21Y0705 cite_as: In the Matter of Majd M. Ghanayem, 311 Ga. 366 (2021) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0705 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0705.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0705/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10367815/in-the-matter-of-majd-m-ghanayem/ date: 2021-04-22 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/S21A0247.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21A0210.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1708 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0705.md?full=1 docket: S21Y0705 citation: 311 Ga. 366 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Disbarred vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 524 date_filed_source: courtlistener record_source: courtlistener also_known_as: - CourtListener cluster 4874678 legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10367815" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Majd M. Ghanayem Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S21Y0705, filed 2021-04-22, 311 Ga. 366. ## Opinion 311 Ga. 366 FINAL COPY S21Y0705. IN THE MATTER OF MAJD M. GHANAYEM. PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation of the State Disciplinary Review Board addressing a Notice of Reciprocal Discipline issued to Respondent Majd M. Ghanayem (State Bar No. 221849) pursuant to Rule 9.4 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. See Bar Rule 4-102 (d). After personal service was unsuccessful and the State Bar properly followed the preliminary steps preceding service by publication, Ghanayem was properly served by publication pursuant to Bar Rule 4-203.1 (b) (3). He has not filed any objection to the imposition of reciprocal discipline, which arose out of a Judgment of Disbarment entered against Ghanayem by the State Bar of Texas, District 14 Grievance Committee Evidentiary Panel 14-1 (“Evidentiary Panel”) on December 19, 2019. After a hearing, at which Ghanayem was present, the Evidentiary Panel found that Ghanayem lived in Taylor County, Texas and was licensed to practice law in Texas; that in 2015, a Texas client hired Ghanayem to file an involuntary relinquishment of parental rights action against the biological father of her son; that Ghanayem neglected the legal matter entrusted to him by failing to file a petition for an involuntary relinquishment of parental rights until March 2017; that Ghanayem failed to keep the client reasonably informed about the status of her matter and failed to promptly respond to reasonable requests for information; and that Ghanayem engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation by misrepresenting the status of the matter to his client and by providing her with a fraudulent order and forged signature of a judge. The Evidentiary Panel found that by his conduct Ghanayem violated various Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct relating to his failure to provide competent and diligent representation, his failure to communicate with his client, and his dishonest conduct in forging a court order. Based on a review of the disciplinary procedures and rules in Texas and the corresponding disciplinary procedures and rules in Georgia, the Review Board concluded that disbarment would be 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, the Review Board recommends that the Court disbar Ghanayem, who has been a member of the Texas Bar since 2011 and the Georgia Bar since December 2013. Neither Ghanayem nor the State Bar has filed objections to the Review Board’s report. Having reviewed the record, we agree with the Review Board that disbarment is the appropriate sanction in this reciprocal discipline matter. Accordingly, it is ordered that the name of Majd M. Ghanayem be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Ghanayem is reminded of his duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Disbarred. All the Justices concur. Decided April 22, 2021. Disbarment. 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 disbarred a lawyer after Texas disciplinary authorities found he forged a judge's signature on a fake court order to hide his neglect of a client's parental rights case. ### Plain-language summary A Texas woman hired attorney Majd M. Ghanayem in 2015 to file a legal action to terminate the parental rights of her son's biological father. Instead of promptly handling the matter, Ghanayem let it sit for nearly two years, failed to keep his client informed, and then lied to her about the status of the case. He went further and gave her a fraudulent court order with a forged judge's signature to cover up his neglect. A Texas disciplinary panel disbarred him in December 2019 after a hearing at which he was present. Because Georgia's State Bar Rules allow reciprocal discipline based on out-of-state sanctions, the Georgia State Disciplinary Review Board reviewed the Texas findings and Georgia's own rules and concluded disbarment was the right punishment here too. Ghanayem did not object, and the Supreme Court of Georgia agreed, removing him from the rolls of lawyers allowed to practice in Georgia. ### Holding, as summarized The court held that disbarment, the same sanction imposed by Texas disciplinary authorities, is the appropriate reciprocal discipline in Georgia because the underlying misconduct, including forging a judge's signature, would similarly warrant disbarment under Georgia's own disciplinary rules. ### Disposition Disbarred. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters Georgians who hired or might have hired Ghanayem, who was licensed in both Texas and Georgia, are protected because he can no longer practice law in this state. The case also shows how Georgia enforces discipline imposed by other states' bar authorities against lawyers licensed here. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,708 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S21Y0705.md?full=1