Moreover, the current record does not reveal whether those prior incidents of misconduct involved similar violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, which could show that Hemmann continues to engage in misconduct involving the abandonment of legal matters entrusted to her by clients, failure to communicate with those clients, and failure to properly withdraw from representation despite her prior admonitions and reprimand. Accordingly, while the special master noted that some previous disciplinary cases involving similar misconduct have resulted in public reprimands of lawyers with a disciplinary history, see In the Matter of Hartin, 295 Ga. 859, 764 S.E.2d 542 (2014) ; In the Matter of Edmondson, 292 Ga. 893, 742 S.E.2d 740 (2013) ; In the Matter of R.A.H., 285 Ga. 870, 684 S.E.2d 631 (2009), this matter involves Hemmann’s fifth offense, and particularly if the prior misconduct was similar in nature, a higher level of discipline would be appropriate. See, e.g.
The special master then turned to the question of aggravation and found most of the 11 aggravating circumstances listed in ABA Standard 9.22 to be present. The special master found that Hunt had prior disciplinary offenses, see ABA Standard 9.22 (a), having received a formal letter of admonition in 2004, another formal letter of admonition in 2006, an interim suspension in 2008, a public reprimand in 2009, see In the Matter of R.A.H., 285 Ga. 870, 870-871, 684 S.E.2d 631 (2009), and an Investigative Panel Reprimand in 2016 ; that he acted with a dishonest or selfish motive, see ABA Standard 9.22 (b), as he admitted spending the misappropriated funds for his personal expenses and to pursue a personal injury case in which he stood to reap a significant fee after settlement; that he had a pattern of misconduct, see ABA Standard 9.22 (c), pointing to his admission of multiple withdrawals of the children’s money for improper purposes; that he refused to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his conduct, see ABA Standard 9.22 (g), noting that he did not apologize to the client and her sons at the mitigation hearing, and that while he would acknowledge wrongdoing in one breath, in the next breath he would persist in his narrative that the client and her sons knew that he was using the children’s money for his own purposes; that the victims of his misconduct were vulnerable, see ABA Standard 9.22 (h), as the client did not speak English well or understand exactly wh
We ordered the public reprimand for Hunt's violation of Rules 1.4 and 1.16 for failing to act with reasonable diligence when representing a client and willfully disregarding a client's legal matter, because Hunt failed to respond to a client's repeated requests to file a motion to dismiss a case that had been dead-docketed or to provide information so the client could proceed on his own. We also found that Hunt violated Rule 9.3 for failing to respond to the State Bar's Notice of Investigation after the client filed a State Bar grievance against Hunt. See In the Matter of R. A. H. , 285 Ga. 870, 684 S.E.2d 631 (2009). Hunt's failure to respond to the State Bar's notice of investigation also was the basis for his interim suspension in December 2008.