In the Matter of Nolen A. Hamer

This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the petition for voluntary discipline filed by Nolen Arthur Hamer State Bar No. 320360 after he rejected a duly served notice of discipline which sought a Review Panel reprimand, see S16Y1240, and prior to the issuance of a formal complaint, see Bar Rules 4-208.3, 4-208.4, and 4-227. Hamer, who became a member of the Bar in 1989, admitted that he violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct in his representation of three separate clients.

As to State Disciplinary Board “SDB” Docket No. 6813, Hamer admitted that a client retained him to file a divorce action on her behalf, which he did, but that he thereafter took virtually no action to advance the case for several months despite inquiries from the client and opposing counsel; that he did not act as diligently as he should have in arranging mediation of the case; that following mediation, he failed to draft the final order after stating he would do so; that he did not act to schedule a final hearing; that throughout the representation, he delegated most of the communication with the client to his non-lawyer assistant; that even after the client herself obtained a file-stamped request for a hearing, Hamer failed to serve the request on opposing counsel, and as a result, opposing counsel did not appear at the scheduled hearing; that at the hearing, Hamer and the client had an oral dispute in the presence of the judge; that Hamer erroneously included a statement in his written notice of intent to withdraw as the client’s counsel that a specific motion had been filed when it had not been filed; and that the client obtained her final divorce decree with other counsel.