--- title: In the Matter of Brandon Andrew Cline collection: opinions id: S26Y0954 cite_as: In the Matter of Brandon Andrew Cline, S26Y0954 (Ga. May 19, 2026) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0954 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0954.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0954/text source_url: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10861086/in-the-matter-of-brandon-andrew-cline/ date: 2026-05-19 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/S26Y0257.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26A0685.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/index.md omitted: opinion extras omitted_chars: 1584 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0954.md?full=1 docket: S26Y0954 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: 675 date_filed_source: courtlistener record_source: courtlistener legal_areas: - professional discipline upstream_id: "10861086" summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 --- # In the Matter of Brandon Andrew Cline Supreme Court of Georgia, docket S26Y0954, filed 2026-05-19. ## 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. S26Y0954 IN THE MATTER OF BRANDON ANDREW CLINE Decided: May 19, 2026 PER CURIAM. This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the report and recommendation of Special Master Thomas E. Cauthorn III, which recommends that we accept the petition for voluntary surrender of license filed by Brandon Andrew Cline (State Bar No. 170418). Cline, who has been a member of the Bar since 2003, acknowledged in his petition that, by his conduct in misusing his trust account, 1 he violated Rules 1.15(I)(a) and 1.15(II)(b) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, which govern the maintenance, holding, and disbursement of personal funds or funds belonging to clients or third persons in a lawyer’s possession. See Bar Rule 4-102(d). The maximum sanction for a violation of each of these Rules is disbarment. Cline further acknowledged that, by his conduct in 1 The misconduct to which Cline admits consists of his having obtained several loans in 2021 and 2022, depositing those funds into his trust account, using those funds for personal and business expenses, transferring money from his business account to cover loan payments, and authorizing automatic debits to his creditors from his trust account, which resulted in numerous overdrafts. abandoning and failing to communicate with a client, 2 he violated Rules 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4(a), and 1.4(b), which govern a lawyer’s duties with respect to his or her representation of and communications with a client. The maximum sanction for a violation of Rules 1.2(a) and 1.3 is disbarment, and the maximum sanction for a violation of Rule 1.4 is a public reprimand. Based on those admissions, Cline requested that the Court accept his petition to voluntarily surrender his license to practice law, which is tantamount to disbarment. See Bar Rule 1.0(u). The Bar responded, recommending that the special master and the Court accept Cline’s petition, and the special master, as noted, recommends that Cline’s petition be accepted. We have reviewed the record and agree that acceptance of Cline’s petition for voluntary surrender of his license is in the best interests of the Bar and the public and is consistent with prior similar cases. See In the Matter of Stuhler, 291 Ga. 660 (2012) (accepting the voluntary surrender of license from an attorney who violated Rules 1.15(I)(a) and (b) and 1.15(II)(b) by commingling and misusing trust account funds). See also In the Matter of Arrington, 314 Ga. 696 (2022) (concluding that an attorney who violated Rules 1.15(I)(a) and 1.15(II)(b) by commingling and misusing trust account funds should be disbarred); In the Matter of Jackson, 321 Ga. 256 (2025) (concluding that an attorney who abandoned a single client; violated Rules 1.2(a), 1.3, and 1.4(a); and, though he had no prior 2 The misconduct to which Cline admits regarding this matter is that, after taking on a client who sought to contest a traffic citation, Cline failed to attend a hearing, resulting in the issuance of an arrest warrant against the client, and, when notified about the warrant, Cline made a couple of unsuccessful attempts to contact the court and then abandoned and failed to communicate with the client. disciplinary history, had multiple offenses related to the client, substantial experience in the practice of law, and a vulnerable client, should be disbarred). Accordingly, we accept Cline’s petition for voluntary surrender of his license and order that the name of Brandon Andrew Cline is hereby removed from the rolls of persons entitled to practice law in the State of Georgia. Cline is reminded of his duties under 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 an Atlanta-area lawyer's request to permanently give up his law license after he admitted misusing client trust account money and abandoning a client facing an arrest warrant. ### Plain-language summary Brandon Andrew Cline, a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 2003, admitted to taking out several loans and depositing that money into his lawyer trust account, an account meant to hold client and third-party funds separately from personal money. He then used the money for personal and business expenses and let automatic debits from creditors cause repeated overdrafts in the account. Cline also admitted that after taking on a client who wanted to fight a traffic citation, he skipped a scheduled hearing, which led to a warrant for the client's arrest, and then failed to properly follow up or stay in touch with the client. Facing possible disbarment for these violations of the state's rules for lawyers, Cline asked the Supreme Court of Georgia to accept his voluntary surrender of his law license, which counts the same as being disbarred. A special master and the State Bar both recommended acceptance, and the court agreed. ### Holding, as summarized The court held that accepting Cline's voluntary surrender of his law license, which is treated the same as disbarment, was in the best interests of the State Bar and the public given his admitted misuse of trust account funds and abandonment of a client, and was consistent with how the court has handled similar past cases. ### Disposition Voluntary surrender of license accepted. All the Justices concur. ### Why it matters The decision permanently removes Cline from the rolls of Georgia lawyers, protecting future clients from similar mishandling of trust funds or abandonment. It also reinforces for the legal profession that misusing client trust accounts and neglecting clients can lead to loss of a law license. > The summarized reasoning, checked quotes, suggested questions, and the CourtListener opinion records (1,584 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/opinions/S26Y0954.md?full=1