The State Bar filed a Formal Complaint, as amended, against the respondent, W. Bennett Gaff, charging him with violating Standards 24 lawyer shall not aid a non-lawyer in the unauthorized practice of law; 44 wilful abandonment or disregard of a legal matter to the client’s detriment; and 73 lawyer shall not allow a person who has been suspended or disbarred and who maintains a presence in an office where the practice of law is conducted by the lawyer, to represent himself or herself as a lawyer, or to have contact with persons who have legal dealings with the office either in person, by telephone, or in writing of Bar Rule 4-102 d. Gaff timely responded to the State Bar’s allegations and, during the course of the proceedings, filed two separate petitions for voluntary discipline, each of which were rejected by this Court in Case Nos. S99Y1591 and S99Y0927. Following this Court’s rejection of Gaff’s second petition on May 14, 1999, an evidentiary hearing was held by the special master on June 17, 1999 at which the State Bar and Gaff presented evidence. Subsequently, on September 8, 1999, the special master filed his report and recommendation in which he found that Gaff violated Standards 24, 44 and 73 of Bar Rule 4-102 d and recommended the sanction of a one-year suspension with conditions for reinstatement. As neither Gaff nor the State Bar sought a Review Panel review of the special master’s report as provided in Bar Rule 4-218, the original record was filed in this Court pursuant to Bar Rule 4-217 c and this disciplinary matter is now properly before the Court for determination.
In the instant case, Gaff, who lived and had a law office in Canton, Georgia, opened another law office in Fitzgerald, Georgia in 1996, in which he allowed Rick Ellis, a disbarred lawyer, to work as a paralegal. Although he received a warning from the State Bar about potential violations of Standard 73 arising from this situation, Gaff permitted Ellis to work unsupervised in his Fitzgerald office and failed to establish office procedures to insure that Ellis did not have contact with Gaff’s clients. While he was working for Gaff, Ellis engaged in criminal misconduct, including forgery and theft. As a result of Ellis’s actions and partially due to Gaff’s own neglect, Gaff failed to deliver settlement proceeds to clients and failed to complete work he had agreed to do. In one case, a client who went to Gaff’s Fitzgerald office for legal advice was allowed to meet with Ellis, as Gaff was not present. The client discussed his case with Ellis, provided him with various documents and paid him a $1,500 retainer, which Ellis failed to deposit in Gaff’s lawyer trust account and instead misappropriated for his own use. Later, when the client met with Gaff and confirmed that he had discussed the case with Ellis, Gaff failed to inform the client that Ellis had been disbarred. Finally, when the client discharged Gaff, Gaff refused to refund that portion of the retainer fee which had not been earned.
