Georgia Judge, Inactive Law License, and Foul Mouth--Gets Reprimanded

The Georgia Judge, Kristina Cook Connelly Graham, daughter of famous Georgia Trial Attorney Bobby Lee Cook (purportedly the model for "Matlock," don't miss reading a terrific ABAJournal profile at the link), --was reprimanded in an Order of the Georgia Supreme Court.  Apparently Judge Choose-a-Last-Name is an arrogant and obnoxious jurist in person.  She is spectacularly disrespectful to other lawyers, law enforcement and public servants.  Not news, folks--this is pretty common.  What's not common is when the Judge lets his or her law license lapse and continues to act as a Judge! 

That's amazing!  What's really unusual is that the various states make it easy as pie for Judges to obtain their continuing legal education requirements while lawyers have to go to considerable  inconvenience.  Judges get paid while attending these "cle" classes.  Usually cle coursework is free to our public servants.  Lawyers on the other hand use their own time and money to get into compliance.  While you can see how someone could inadvertently let a deadline slip, in OurState, a computer kicks out your name and you are publically suspended unitl you pay a small penalty and bring yourself into compliance.  That this Georgia situation could happen really raises some startling issues--like:  are the matters for which Judge Choose-a-Last-Name issued orders, valid?  Five years! 

This made me reflect on double standards in OurTown.  Here there is a major courthouse named after a famous politician who ended his career on the local bench despite being busted on one or more occasions for shop-lifting.  There is also a Law School named after another famous lawyer/rainmaker who notably forgot to bring his license into compliance.  Some lawyers pay, some lawyers pay more, and some lawyers get buildings named after them.

Uh, Boss, That $40 Reimbursement Check from the Firm Bounced . . .

Joan Sanchez, a long time office manager for the Chicago business law firm of Kelly, Olson,
Michod, DeHaan & Richtere went on vacation to Hawaii when an attorney in the firm sought to cash a $40 reimbursement check for expenses, bummer insufficient funds.  Turns out, Joan, the office manager had embezzled nearly a million dollars from the firm over a number of years according to a report at the Chicago Sun Times (with a tip of the Borsalino to the ABAJournal website).  Joan returned from Hawaii and is now decompressing in the Cook County jail. 

This story is so common, and not unique to law firms; although lawyers risk ethical violations for these acts.  In the Bad Lawyer's situation, I was so out of touch with my checking accounts, my "office manager" had pegged payment of her utility, furniture rental, and Home Depot accounts to my IOLTA (trust account.)  Talk about willful blindness!  Mine. 

Business law firms tend not to get disciplinary attention when these sorts of malfactoring support staff steal from the law firm.  It's one of the double standards, like when legendary clergy sex abuse attorney Jeff Anderson gets bashed in the the Wall Street Journal for earning lots of money as a result of suing pedophiles and perpetrators in the Church; while, Big Law firms are celebrated for their million dollar plus partner profits and their posh law office digs almost always featured at their websites, check the link for Kelly, Olson!