In the Matter of John B. Tucker

This matter is before the Court on the Petition for Voluntary Discipline filed by Respondent John B. Tucker State Bar No. 717750 prior to entry of a Formal Complaint. In his petition Tucker admits that he violated Rules 5.3 d and 5.5 a of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, see Bar Rule 4-102 d, and asks the Court to impose a Public Reprimand or up to a six-month suspension. A violation of either rule may be punished by disbarment.

Tucker admits that in 2012 and 2013 he represented 26 clients in separate bankruptcy cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia, and that in each of those cases, he worked with Samuel Brantley, a former lawyer who had been disbarred as a result of a conviction to commit wire fraud. Tucker knew that Brantley had been disbarred but nevertheless allowed him to have contact with clients in person, by telephone and in writing; allowed him to meet with clients in Tucker’s office; allowed him to discuss and advise clients about the procedural and substantive aspects of their cases; did not tell the clients that Brantley had been disbarred and told clients Brantley was a lawyer; and allowed Brantley to prepare pleadings although Tucker signed them and appeared in court. In July 2013 the U. S. Bankruptcy Court entered an order sanctioning Tucker in a case for allowing Brantley to effectively represent the client except for making court appearances, and it suspended him from practice in that court for six months.