--- title: In the Matter of Richard H. Middleton, Jr collection: opinions id: S23Y0922 cite_as: In the Matter of Richard H. Middleton, Jr, 316 Ga. 825 (2023) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0922 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0922.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0922/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10680072/in-the-matter-of-richard-h-middleton-jr/ date: 2023-07-05 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/S22G1050.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23A0436.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1600 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0922.md?full=1 docket: S23Y0922 citation: 316 Ga. 825 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: 654 date_filed_source: courtlistener record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline - legal ethics upstream_id: "10680072" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Richard H. Middleton, Jr Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S23Y0922, filed 2023-07-05, 316 Ga. 825. ## Opinion 316 Ga. 825 FINAL COPY S23Y0922. IN THE MATTER OF RICHARD H. MIDDLETON, JR. PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the petition for voluntary surrender of license filed by Richard H. Middleton, Jr., (State Bar No. 504912) before the issuance of a formal complaint. See Bar Rule 4-227 (b) (2). In this petition, Middleton admits that in connection with a single client matter he violated Rules 1.15 (I) (c) and 1.15 (II) (b) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct (“GRPC”) found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d). The maximum sanction for a violation of both of these rules is disbarment. Middleton, who has been a member of the State Bar since 1977, admits the following facts. Middleton was associated as co-counsel by an attorney licensed in South Carolina to represent a client who was injured in an automobile collision in the Savannah, Georgia area in November 2016. Middleton filed a lawsuit on behalf of the client in the Chatham County State Court in November 2018. Middleton then settled the lawsuit with the primary insurance carrier for the policy limit of $100,000 in May 2020. The settlement funds were placed in Middleton’s IOLTA account at his bank pending the resolution of the client’s South Carolina workers’ compensation case, in which she was being represented by the South Carolina attorney. In March 2021, the South Carolina attorney resolved the workers’ compensation case when the carrier agreed to a lien waiver and, on that same day, notified Middleton that the workers’ compensation matter was resolved and that the settlement proceeds from the collision case could be disbursed. However, Middleton refused to disburse the settlement funds to the client or the South Carolina attorney despite numerous requests being made. Middleton admits that sufficient funds were not available in his IOLTA account because he incrementally withdrew the settlement proceeds for his personal use after the settlement proceeds were deposited into his IOLTA account. Based on these admissions, Middleton states that he violated Rule 1.15 (I) (c) by failing to promptly deliver the settlement proceeds to the South Carolina attorney and the client, but asserts that he has since fully reimbursed both parties. In addition, he states that he violated Rule 1.15 (II) (b) by failing to withdraw only earned fees, and, instead, incrementally withdrawing client funds from his IOLTA account for his personal use over a considerable period of time without providing an accounting. Given the admissions of fact and conduct described herein, Middleton requests the Court accept this petition for voluntary surrender of his license. See In the Matter of Bunch, 314 Ga. 423, 425 (877 SE2d 274) (2022) (accepting petition for voluntary surrender of license based on Special Master’s recommendation for attorney who violated, among other rules, Rules 1.15 (I) (c) and 1.15 (II) (b) by failing to safeguard client’s settlement funds and administer client funds from a trust account); In the Matter of Dabney-Froe, 302 Ga. 746, 746-747 (808 SE2d 649) (2017) (accepting petition for voluntary surrender of license where attorney failed to promptly disburse funds or provide accounting of funds in violation of Rule 1.15 (I)). The State Bar has responded to the petition and recommends that the Court accept the petition based on Middleton’s admissions. We have reviewed the record and agree to accept Middleton’s petition for voluntary surrender of his license, which is tantamount to disbarment. See GRPC 1.0 (s). Accordingly, it is ordered that the name of Richard H. Middleton, Jr., be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Middleton is reminded of his duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219 (b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. Decided July 5, 2023. 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 Savannah lawyer's request to give up his law license after he admitted improperly keeping a client's $100,000 settlement money in his trust account for personal use. ### Plain-language summary Richard H. Middleton, Jr., a Georgia attorney since 1977, represented a woman injured in a car crash near Savannah. He settled her lawsuit for $100,000 in 2020 and placed the money in his trust account while a separate workers' compensation case in South Carolina was resolved. Once that case settled in March 2021, Middleton was told he could release the funds, but he refused despite repeated requests from the client and her South Carolina attorney. Middleton admitted he did not have enough money in the trust account to pay them because he had been gradually withdrawing the settlement funds for his own use. Before the State Bar filed formal charges, he asked to voluntarily surrender his law license, admitting he violated Georgia's rules on safeguarding client funds. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the admissions and the State Bar's recommendation and agreed to accept the surrender, which counts the same as disbarment. ### Holding, as summarized An attorney who admits to failing to promptly deliver settlement funds to a client and third party and to improperly withdrawing unearned client funds from his trust account for personal use, in violation of Rules 1.15(I)(c) and 1.15(II)(b), may have his petition for voluntary surrender of license accepted, a result treated as equivalent to disbarment. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The case reinforces that Georgia lawyers who mishandle client trust account funds, even if they eventually repay the money, face losing their law license. It signals to clients and other attorneys how seriously the State Bar and the court treat trust account violations. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,600 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0922.md?full=1