ATLANTA, Ga. (Legal Newsline) — The Georgia Supreme Court accepted the voluntary surrender of a Georgia attorney's law license after he was accused of communicating with a person represented by another attorney without permission.
The case involves Ashutosh S. Joshi, whose disciplinary matter had already come before the Georgia Supreme Court once before.
Initially, Joshi submitted a petition for voluntary discipline after a formal complaint was filed against him for various violations, including misrepresenting himself as a client's attorney, according to a decision by the Georgia Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court rejected the petition due to unresolved serious allegations. Joshi then submitted a second petition for the voluntary surrender of his law license, admitting to violating one rule but denying more serious misconduct.
The background of the case includes Joshi meeting with a co-conspirator in a criminal case without the co-conspirator's attorney's permission.
The formal complaint charged Joshi with violations of Rules 4.1 (a), 8.4 (a) (4), and 4.2 (a) of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, the court document states.
Despite the recommendation by the State Bar and the Special Master to accept Joshi's surrender of his license, the Supreme Court had concerns about the unresolved serious allegations.
"Although Joshi has not admitted to the more serious misconduct alleged in this case, his petition’s admissions of facts and conduct in violation of Rule 4.2 (a) are sufficient to authorize the imposition of discipline up to disbarment," the court noted. "And although this resolution leaves unaddressed the additional misconduct allegedly committed by Joshi, it remains true that even if that alleged misconduct were addressed and Joshi were found to have committed additional Rules violations, the maximum sanction that could be imposed for such — disbarment — would be no greater than the surrender of Joshi’s law license already presented to the Court here."
The Special Master recommended accepting Joshi's second petition for voluntary surrender of license, even though the serious allegations were not fully addressed.
The Special Master believed Joshi's voluntary surrender, tantamount to disbarment, was sufficient given the admitted violation and Joshi's sworn statement to never seek readmission to the State Bar.
The Supreme Court ultimately accepted Joshi's voluntary surrender of his license based on the Special Master's recommendation.
"In accepting Joshi’s petition for voluntary surrender of license, we emphasize that Joshi has sworn under oath that he would 'never apply for readmission to the State Bar of Georgia,' and we are accepting the voluntary surrender of license upon that condition," the decision states. "Although the more serious allegations of misconduct have not been resolved, under these circumstances, there is no reason to further delay these proceedings."
Joshi's second petition for voluntary surrender of his bar license was accepted by the Supreme Court, despite unresolved serious allegations, based on Joshi's admission of one violation and his sworn statement to never seek readmission to the State Bar of Georgia.
All justices concurred in the decision, except Justice Shawn Ellen LaGrua, who was disqualified from participating in the case.
Attempts were made to reach Georgians for Lawsuit Reform, which is an organization that focuses on ensuring a fair and balanced civil justice system, and Reform Georgia, which is a justice policy think tank that focuses on both the state and local level, but neither responded to requests for comments onon these issues.