This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the report and recommendation of the special master, Jonathan C. Peters, recommending that the Court accept the petition for voluntary discipline filed by David Edmund Ralston State Bar No. 592850 and impose a Review Panel reprimand for Ralston’s provision of financial assistance to a couple who were his clients and the use of his trust account in providing that assistance, in violation of Rules 1.8 e and 1.15 II b of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct found in Bar Rule 4-102 d.1 The maximum sanction for a violation of Rule 1.8 e is a public reprimand, and the maximum sanction for a violation of Rule 1.15 II b is disbarment.
In his petition, Ralston requested the imposition of an Investigative Panel reprimand, but agreed to accept discipline up to a three-month suspension. The State Bar supported the petition and requested that some form of public discipline be imposed.2 Based on Ralston’s petition and the State Bar’s response, the special master found the following facts relevant to the admitted violations of Rules 1.8 e and 1.15 II b. Ralston was admitted to the Bar in 1980 and has no prior disciplinary sanctions. In April 2006, an associate in Ralston’s firm was retained by the clients to represent them in a personal injury action arising out of a March 2006 car accident. Ralston was not involved in the initial representation, but became actively involved in 2008 and filed suit on behalf of the clients in March 2008. The defendant answered and, although she did not contest liability, she did not admit causation for the injuries. In May 2010, the clients told Ralston that one of them had become unemployed and that they were having difficulty meeting the basic necessities for themselves and their minor child, including paying rent and paying for prescription medication; they asked Ralston to advance them money to be repaid from the proceeds of a settlement or trial. Ralston, believing that the clients were truly in dire financial need, advanced to them funds at no interest from an earned, but undisbursed, fee of $24,050.09 remaining in his IOLTA Interest on Lawyer Trust Account from an unrelated matter; between May 26, 2010, and October 31, 2011, he made 12 disbursements totaling $22,000 to the clients. A certified public accountant conducted a review of Ralston’s trust account for the time period in question, determined that no defalcation occurred, and verified that the earned but undisbursed fee was the source of funds advanced to the clients. Other facts set forth in the special master’s report address violations of additional Rules that were alleged in the amended formal complaint against Ralston, but which the State Bar has investigated and has determined do not merit further proceedings.3
