An Atlanta attorney has been disbarred for mishandling client funds, the Supreme Court of Georgia decided Monday.
In the course of his real estate practice, Jeffrey W. Harris "misappropriated (attorney) trust funds and commingled those funds with his own," according to the opinion.
In early 2015, a bank notified the State Bar that Harris had issued 19 checks from his attorney trust account without having enough funds to cover them. Harris deposited $12,500 of his own money to make up for the difference, but made duplicate withdrawals of attorney fees.
Harris, a member of the Bar since 1985 with no prior disciplinary history, is assumed to have admitted the violations because he acknowledged — but did not file an answer to — a formal complaint from the Bar.
The justices agreed that disbarment was the appropriate punishment, “particularly in light of the fact that Harris offered no mitigating explanation of his behavior,” the opinion said.
Harris attended law school at University of Tennessee. A call placed to a number listed for him was not answered Monday.
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