In the Matter of John V. Lloyd

This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the amended petition for voluntary discipline filed by Respondent John V. Lloyd State Bar No. 455310 after this Court rejected his initial petition for voluntary discipline, see In the Matter of Lloyd, 293 Ga. 155 744 SE2d 63 2013. Lloyd requests either a Review Panel reprimand or a public reprimand, with conditions, for his admitted violations of Rules 1.4 and 1.16 d of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, see Bar Rule 4-102 d. The State Bar recommends accepting Lloyd’s amended petition, asserting that the discipline requested therein is appropriate for his admitted violations. We agree.

As noted in our earlier opinion, Lloyd admitted in his original petition that he was paid $4,500 to represent a criminal defendant in an appeal, but by the time he entered an appearance, the appeal already had been dismissed. Lloyd, 293 Ga. at 155. Lloyd asserted that he had done some work before he realized the appeal had been dismissed, but admitted that he did not earn the full $4,500 he had been paid. Lloyd further admitted that he only refunded $375 to his client and asserted, without any explanation, that he was unable to refund any more. This Court rejected Lloyd’s petition finding it “woefully inadequate” in explaining the amount of work performed or the reasons that only $375 had been offered to the client. Id. at 156.