These disciplinary matters are before the Court on the report and recommendation of special master Daniel B. Snipes who recommends that this Court accept Respondent L. Nicole Hamilton’s State Bar No. 320909 petition for voluntary discipline, as amended, and impose as discipline in these three cases a public reprimand with conditions for her admitted violations of Rules 1.3, 1.4, 1.16 d, 5.5 a, and 9.3 of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, see Bar Rule 4-102d, even though the maximum sanction for a violation of Rules 1.3 and 5.5 a is disbarment. The State Bar did not object to Hamilton’s petition and neither party sought review by the Review Panel.
The special master found, based on the admissions made in Hamilton’s consolidated petition for voluntary discipline, that Hamilton who apparently was formerly known as Nicole King, and who is now known as Nicole Brantley has been a member of the State Bar since 2002. With regard to the first matter, Hamilton admittedly failed to appear at a sentencing hearing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, failed to communicate with her client, and failed to promptly respond to the Notice of Investigation, thereby violating Rules 1.3, 1.4, 1.16 d and 9.3. With regard to the second matter, Hamilton violated Rule 9.3 by failing to promptly respond to a Notice of Investigation issued with regard to an underlying complaint that involved poor communication between Hamilton and the client. Finally, in the third case, Hamilton continued to practice law after receiving an administrative suspension for not paying bar dues and failed to communicate with clients concerning pending court appearances, thereby violating Rules 1.4 and 5.5 a. In addition, Hamilton admitted that she has a prior disciplinary history consisting of 1 an Investigative Panel reprimand issued on September 15, 2006, 2 two formal letters of admonition issued on separate disciplinary matters on November 9, 2010, and 3 another Investigative Panel Reprimand issued on December 10, 2010. Each of these prior disciplinary matters involves, in large part, Hamilton’s failure to adequately communicate with her clients.
