In the Matter of Hakeem Bertrand Brock

Hakeem Bertrand Brock, a Georgia lawyer who had already been disciplined once before in 2019 for trust account problems, was investigated again after bounced checks from his client trust accounts triggered a State Bar inquiry. The Bar's investigation uncovered that Brock repeatedly mixed his own money with client funds, created fake settlement documents, forged a client's signature, and used one client's settlement money to cover shortfalls caused by misusing another client's funds. In one case, a mother whose child died received only a fraction of a $100,000 wrongful death settlement after Brock spent the money on himself. A Special Master held a hearing and recommended disbarment, and the State Bar's Review Board agreed. Brock argued the punishment should be only a one-year suspension, but the Supreme Court of Georgia found his admissions and the evidence overwhelming. The court ordered him disbarred and said that if he ever seeks to practice law again, he must first repay all affected clients and prove it to the court and the Bar.

The court held that Brock's repeated, knowing violations of trust accounting rules, his dishonesty with clients and disciplinary authorities, and his conversion of client funds across multiple matters warranted disbarment, and that any future readmission requires full restitution to affected clients with proof submitted to the court and the State Bar.

The ruling removes a repeat-offending lawyer from practice, protecting future clients from similar harm. It also reinforces that Georgia lawyers who misuse client trust accounts and fabricate documents face disbarment, and signals to the legal community that restitution will be required before any path back to practicing law.

Disbarred

1. The court applied the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, a framework that weighs the duty violated, the lawyer's mental state, the harm caused, and any aggravating or mitigating circumstances, to decide the appropriate punishment.
2. It deferred to the Special Master's factual findings and credibility calls, such as disbelieving Brock's claims that fraud, bank errors, or a rogue paralegal explained his bounced checks and missing client funds, because the Special Master who heard the testimony is best positioned to judge credibility.
3. Reviewing the legal conclusions about which specific Rules were violated independently (without deferring to the Special Master), the court found the evidence did not clearly support three of the charged violations, but concluded this did not matter because Brock's many other admitted and proven violations, including commingling client and personal funds and converting a client's settlement, were enough on their own to justify disbarment.
4. The court independently evaluated aggravating and mitigating factors and agreed that Brock's prior discipline, dishonest motive, pattern of misconduct, multiple offenses, vulnerable victims, and refusal to make voluntary restitution outweighed his cited hardships, such as caring for a son with autism and closing a business during the pandemic.
5. Comparing Brock's admitted violations to prior disbarment cases involving similar trust account and honesty violations, the court concluded his conduct matched or exceeded the severity that has led to disbarment in other Georgia attorney discipline cases.

• attorney disbarment
• trust account mismanagement
• client fund conversion
• State Bar discipline
• settlement fraud