High Court Postpones Disbarment Decision on Hardwick
The Georgia Supreme Court won't decide whether to disbar Atlanta lawyer Nathan Hardwick IV until after his appeal is over.
January 22, 2019 at 04:31 PM
3 minute read
Nathan Hardwick.The Georgia Supreme Court said it will wait for Atlanta lawyer Nathan Hardwick IV's appeal to conclude before deciding whether he should be disbarred.
In a discipline opinion issued Tuesday, the high court granted Hardwick's petition to postpone the disbarment decision and extend his license suspension. The court said it will wait until after his appeal of his criminal conviction for embezzlement has been decided.
Hardwick, 53, was convicted Oct. 12 by a federal jury of embezzling about $26 million from his now-bankrupt residential real estate firm, Morris Hardwick & Schneider.
The jury found Hardwick guilty on all 23 charges: one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 21 counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements to federally insured banks.
After the trial, Hardwick on Nov. 27 petitioned to maintain the suspended status of his law license until his appeal is adjudicated, and the State Bar of Georgia asked the court to accept his petition.
The high court had suspended Hardwick's Georgia bar license at the state bar's request in September 2016, seven months after federal prosecutors for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia indicted him on multiple felony charges.
The suspension prohibited Hardwick from practicing law in Georgia “during the pendency of the criminal charges against him.”
Hardwick was taken into custody immediately after his Oct. 11 conviction, and he has appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11 before Judge Eleanor Ross of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, after being pushed back twice at his lawyers' request.
It is shaping up to be as hard-fought as the three-week trial. The government is seeking an almost 22-year sentence, according to the sentencing memo it filed earlier in January, while Hardwick's defense team from Garland Samuel & Loeb said he should only get eight years.
Read More:
Maximum Sentence Sought for Hardwick After Embezzlement Conviction
Closing Attorneys Call Guilty Verdict for Hardwick a Relief
Hardwick Convicted on All Counts
Jurors Deliberate Hardwick's Fate in Embezzlement Trial
Hardwick Takes Stand to Defend Against Embezzlement Charges
Alleged Co-Conspirator a No-Show as Hardwick Prosecution Rests
Hardwick Spent Law Firm's Millions on Jets, Gambling, Girlfriends, Jurors Hear
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