chancery wrote: ↑Wed Jul 05, 2023 9:02 pmbob wrote: ↑Wed Jul 05, 2023 3:25 pm Wood basically has moved his shop to South Carolina; this may be a method to protect his South Carolina bar card. I presume South Carolina would initiate some sort of reciprocal discipline proceedings if Georgia actually disbarred him, so this may be a move to avoid South Carolina from acting.The Attorney Information Search of the South Carolina Judicial Branch turns up no records for "Lucian Wood" or "Lincoln Wood."
As far as sloppy language goes, I dunno. It hadn't occurred to me that one could use the status of being a "resigned lawyer" as the basis for admission pro hac vice, and if that were the concern, I would have expected language that was more clear.
It did, however, occur to me that the State of Georgia doesn't have jurisdiction to declare who may practice law in other jurisdiction.
OTOH, reciprocal discipline exists in every jurisdiction I've heard of ... oh all right, let's look ... OK: "Every state in the country has a 'reciprocal' discipline rule." Attorney Grievance Commission v. Whitehead, 390 Md. 663, 679 n.12 (2006). However, not every state automatically applies "identical" discipline, particularly when the first jurisdiction has not made extensive findings of fact. Id.
In Whitehead, the attorney had been disbarred by the District of Columbia. Disbarment was "on consent" and was therefore on a limited record. A divided (4/3) court held that (i) it was free to determine under Maryland law the degree of punishment that was appropriate for the attorney's conduct, and (ii) under Maryland precedents, an indefinite suspension with the right to reapply after eighteen months was appropriate.
In light of this, I find it more likely that the reference to other jurisdictions wasn't sloppy language, but rather designed, so far as is possible, to frame a decree, binding under the Full Faith and Credit Clause, that would prevent Wood from practicing law anywhere for the rest of his life.
Almost anywhere, anyhow...
Philly Boondoggle