--- title: In the Matter of Susan Janette Lopez collection: opinions id: S23Y1047 cite_as: In the Matter of Susan Janette Lopez, 316 Ga. 894 (2023) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y1047 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y1047.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y1047/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10680066/in-the-matter-of-susan-janette-lopez/ date: 2023-08-16 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/S21Z0595.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y0743.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1359 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y1047.md?full=1 docket: S23Y1047 citation: 316 Ga. 894 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Voluntary surrender of license accepted (equivalent to disbarment) vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 308 date_filed_source: courtlistener citations: - 891 S.E.2d 775 record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10680066" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Susan Janette Lopez Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S23Y1047, filed 2023-08-16, 316 Ga. 894. ## Opinion 316 Ga. 894 FINAL COPY S23Y1047. IN THE MATTER OF SUSAN JANETTE LOPEZ. PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on a petition for voluntary discipline filed by Susan Janette Lopez (State Bar No. 917332) prior to the issuance of a formal complaint under Georgia Bar Rule 4-227 (b). In her petition, Lopez, who has been a member of the Georgia Bar since 2014, admits that, on May 9, 2023, she entered a guilty plea in the Superior Court of Cobb County to one count of aggravated stalking, a felony, see OCGA § 16-5-91. By this conduct, Lopez acknowledges that she violated Rule 8.4 (a) (2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct found in Bar Rule 4-102 (d). The maximum penalty for a violation of Rule 8.4 (a) (2) is disbarment. Lopez seeks to voluntarily surrender her license to practice law, which she acknowledges is tantamount to disbarment. See Rule 1.0 (s). In its response, the Bar recommends that this Court accept Lopez’s petition. We have reviewed the record and agree to accept Lopez’s petition for voluntary discipline. See In the Matter of Williams, 291 Ga. 659 (732 SE2d 85) (2012) (accepting voluntary surrender of license where attorney violated Rule 8.4 (a) (2)); In the Matter of Campbell, 282 Ga. 688 (653 SE2d 51) (2007) (same). Accordingly, it is ordered that the name of Susan Janette Lopez be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Lopez is reminded of her duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4- 219 (b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. Decided August 16, 2023. Voluntary surrender of license. 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 accepted an attorney's request to give up her law license after she pleaded guilty to a felony stalking charge, a step the court treats the same as disbarment. ### Plain-language summary Susan Janette Lopez, a member of the Georgia Bar since 2014, pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of Cobb County to one count of aggravated stalking, a felony under Georgia law. Before the State Bar filed a formal complaint against her, Lopez filed her own petition asking to voluntarily give up her law license rather than go through a full disciplinary case. Lopez admitted that her guilty plea violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which bar lawyers from committing criminal acts that reflect poorly on their fitness to practice law. The maximum punishment for that violation is disbarment. The State Bar recommended that the court accept her request, and the Supreme Court of Georgia agreed, ordering her name removed from the list of people allowed to practice law in Georgia. ### Holding, as summarized An attorney who pleads guilty to a felony violates Rule 8.4(a)(2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Supreme Court of Georgia will accept her voluntary surrender of her law license as a resolution equivalent to disbarment. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted (equivalent to disbarment). All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The decision removes a convicted felon from the rolls of practicing Georgia attorneys, protecting clients and the public from someone found guilty of a serious crime, and reinforces that a felony conviction can end a lawyer's career in the state. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,359 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S23Y1047.md?full=1