Two men who filed complaints with the State Bar of Georgia against disbarred Buckhead lawyer Robert T. Thompson Jr. say Thompson's indictment on Tuesday by a Fulton County grand jury caps years of civil and criminal complaints by an unofficial network of his former clients to recover losses stemming from the lawyer's failure to do his job.

They just wish it hadn't taken so long and required what they describe as a sustained, often frustrating fight to convince law enforcement authorities, the bar and public officials that Thompson—who claimed to specialize in staving off foreclosures—was taking their money and then skipping court appearances, failing to file required court papers and, often, costing his clients the properties they had hired him to save.

“I think it had a lot to do with the fact that he was an attorney,” said Peter Mancuso, a former journalist whose friend, Sara Bohannon, lost her Stockbridge home after hiring Thompson. Thompson was, at one time, an adjunct law professor at Emory University who in 2009 chaired the bar's lawyer assistance committee, a volunteer group of 10 lawyers and three counselors who took calls from and referred troubled lawyers to professionals for help. “I'm just glad the chickens have finally come home to roost,” Mancuso added. “But the wheels of justice sure do turn slowly.”