--- title: In the Matter of Vi Bui collection: opinions id: S25Y1174 cite_as: In the Matter of Vi Bui, S25Y1174 (Ga. Aug. 26, 2025) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S25Y1174 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S25Y1174.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S25Y1174/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10660791/in-the-matter-of-vi-bui/ date: 2025-08-26 status: published corpus_version: opinions-2026-09-18 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/2025.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S25A0773.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S25Y0726.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1559 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S25Y1174.md?full=1 docket: S25Y1174 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Voluntary surrender of license accepted, tantamount to disbarment vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 476 date_filed_source: courtlistener record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10660791" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Vi Bui Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S25Y1174, filed 2025-08-26. ## Opinion NOTICE: This opinion is subject to modification resulting from motions for reconsideration under Supreme Court Rule 27, the Court’s reconsideration, and editorial revisions by the Reporter of Decisions. The version of the opinion published in the Advance Sheets for the Georgia Reports, designated as the “Final Copy,” will replace any prior version on the Court’s website and docket. A bound volume of the Georgia Reports will contain the final and official text of the opinion. In the Supreme Court of Georgia Decided: August 26, 2025 S25Y1174. IN THE MATTER OF VI BUI. PER CURIAM. This is the second appearance before this Court of this disciplinary matter involving Vi Bui (State Bar No. 801751), who has been a member of the State Bar since 2013. Bui previously filed a voluntary petition for suspension following the issuance of a formal complaint, see Bar Rule 4-227(c), after he entered a guilty plea to one felony count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct or impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Code under 26 USC § 7212(a). In his voluntary petition for suspension, Bui stated that he would submit within 45 days of his sentencing a new petition requesting a final disciplinary disposition. On February 18, 2025, this Court issued an order accepting Bui’s petition and suspending him from the practice of law pending the resolution of his criminal matter and until further order of the Court. See In the Matter of Bui, S25Y0576 (Feb. 18, 2025). On May 29, 2025, Bui filed in this Court a petition for the voluntary surrender of his license, in which he admits that on May 15, 2025, he was sentenced in the criminal case to 16 months in prison to be followed by supervised release for a period of one year. Bui further admits that his conduct violated Rule 8.4(a)(2)1 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, found in Bar Rule 4-102(d). The maximum sanction for a violation of this rule is disbarment. The State Bar filed its response, asking this Court to accept Bui’s petition. Having reviewed the record, we agree to accept Bui’s petition for voluntary surrender of his license, which is tantamount to disbarment, as this is an appropriate sanction for his admitted violation of Rule 8.4(a)(2). See In the Matter of Huber, 320 Ga. 314 (2024) (accepting petition for voluntary surrender of license where 1 Rule 8.4(a)(2) provides that it shall be a violation of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct to “be convicted of a felony.” attorney’s felony convictions violated Rule 8.4(a)(2)); In the Matter of Hardwick, 315 Ga. 840 (2023) (same). Accordingly, it is ordered that the name of Vi Bui be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Bui is reminded of his duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219(b). Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. ## 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 voluntary surrender of law license from an attorney who was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a federal felony, a step equivalent to disbarment. ### Plain-language summary Vi Bui, a Georgia attorney admitted to the State Bar in 2013, pleaded guilty to a federal felony count of corruptly obstructing the administration of the Internal Revenue Code. After entering that plea, Bui had already been suspended from practicing law by the Supreme Court of Georgia pending resolution of his criminal case. Once he was sentenced to 16 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release, Bui asked the court to accept the voluntary surrender of his law license rather than go through further disciplinary proceedings. The State Bar supported his request. The Supreme Court of Georgia reviewed the record, found that Bui's felony conviction violated the rule making felony convictions professional misconduct, and agreed to accept his voluntary surrender of license. That surrender counts the same as disbarment, and his name is removed from the rolls of Georgia lawyers. ### Holding, as summarized The court held that Bui's admitted felony conviction violated Rule 8.4(a)(2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which makes any felony conviction professional misconduct, and that voluntary surrender of his license was an appropriate sanction, treated the same as disbarment. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted, tantamount to disbarment. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The decision removes a convicted felon from the rolls of licensed Georgia attorneys, protecting clients and the legal system from someone unable to practice due to imprisonment. It also shows how Georgia handles lawyers convicted of serious federal crimes, treating voluntary surrender as equivalent to disbarment. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,559 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S25Y1174.md?full=1