--- title: In the Matter of Shaquandra A. Woods collection: opinions id: S26Y0386 cite_as: In the Matter of Shaquandra A. Woods, S26Y0386 (Ga. May 5, 2026) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0386 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0386.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0386/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10853114/in-the-matter-of-shaquandra-a-woods/ date: 2026-05-05 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/2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0444.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0499.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1505 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0386.md?full=1 docket: S26Y0386 court: Supreme Court of Georgia case_type: bar discipline authoring_justice: Per Curiam disposition: Petition for voluntary surrender of license accepted vote: All the Justices concur word_count: 515 date_filed_source: courtlistener record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10853114" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Shaquandra A. Woods Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S26Y0386, filed 2026-05-05. ## 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 No. S26Y0386 In the Matter of Shaquandra A. Woods Decided: May 5, 2026 PER CURIAM. This is the second appearance before this Court of this dis- ciplinary matter involving Shaquandra Woods (State Bar No. 579239), who has been a member of the State Bar since 2019. Woods previously filed a Petition for Voluntary Suspension of Li- cense Pending Appeal, in which she sought the voluntary suspen- sion of her license to practice law pending the outcome of an ap- peal of her criminal conviction. In that petition, Woods admitted that on December 8, 2023, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, she was found guilty of conspir- acy to commit wire fraud under 18 USC § 1349 — a felony — and that her conviction violated Rule 8.4(a)(2) 1 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct (“GRPC” or “Rules”) found in Bar Rule 4- 102(d). Further, Woods represented that she would notify the State Bar of the final disposition of her appeal within ten days of that disposition. This Court accepted the petition and suspended Woods from the practice of law pending the outcome of her appeal. See In the Matter of Woods, 318 Ga. 609 (2024). On October 21, 2025, Woods filed the instant Petition for Voluntary Surrender of License. In this petition, Woods states 1 Rule 8.4(a)(2) provides that it shall be a violation of the GRPC for a lawyer to “be convicted of a felony.” The maximum sanction for this Rule is disbarment. that on May 14, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals af- firmed her conviction and on July 21, 2025, her request for en banc review was denied. Further, Woods admits that she has vio- lated Rule 8.4(a)(2). The State Bar filed its response, in which it requests this Court to accept the petition. Having reviewed the record, we agree to accept Woods’s pe- tition for voluntary surrender of her license, which is tantamount to disbarment, as this is an appropriate sanction for her admitted violation of Rule 8.4(a)(2). See In the Matter of Bui, 322 Ga. 462 (2025) (accepting petition for voluntary surrender of license where attorney’s felony convictions violated Rule 8.4(a)(2)); In the Matter of Huber, 320 Ga. 314 (2024) (same); In the Matter of Hard- wick, 315 Ga. 840 (2023) (same). Accordingly, it is ordered that the name of Shaquandra Woods be removed from the rolls of per- sons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia. Woods is reminded of her duties pursuant to Bar Rule 4-219(b). Petition for 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 Savannah-area attorney's request to give up her law license after her felony wire fraud conviction was upheld on appeal, permanently ending her ability to practice law in Georgia. ### Plain-language summary Shaquandra Woods, a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2019, was convicted in federal court in the Southern District of Georgia of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a felony. After that conviction, she asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to suspend her law license while she appealed, and the court agreed. Her appeal failed: the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed her conviction, and her request for a full court review was denied. Woods then asked to voluntarily give up her law license entirely, admitting that her felony conviction violated the rule barring lawyers from being convicted of a felony. The State Bar agreed she should be allowed to surrender her license. The Supreme Court of Georgia accepted her request and ordered her name removed from the rolls of attorneys authorized to practice law in the state. ### Holding, as summarized A lawyer's felony conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud violates Rule 8.4(a)(2) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, and voluntary surrender of her license, treated as equivalent to disbarment, is an appropriate sanction once that violation is admitted and the conviction is final. ### Disposition Petition for voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The decision permanently removes a convicted felon from Georgia's list of licensed attorneys, protecting clients and the public from being represented by a lawyer with a felony fraud conviction. It also illustrates how federal criminal convictions can end a Georgia legal career even without a separate bar disciplinary trial. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,505 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0386.md?full=1