A Macon attorney has been ordered to stop practicing law after Georgia Supreme Court justices determined on Tuesday that he had violated multiple Georgia Bar rules, according to court documents.
The justices at the state's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that lawyer Melvin Raines II should be disbarred from practicing law in Georgia because he violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct with three of his clients, according to court records.
The state Bar filed three complaints against Raines on April 25, 2024, accusing him of:
- Not abiding by a client's decision regarding representation
- Not acting with diligence and promptness in representing a client
- Not consulting the client on how to accomplish the client's objectives
- Not keeping the client informed about the status of their case
- Not complying with requests for information
- Not holding funds or other client property in an account separate from his personal account
- Not keeping records of account funds and other property by the lawyer
- Withdrawing clients' funds for his personal use
- Not making a reasonable effort to expedite litigation consistent with the client's interest
- Being dishonest, fraudulent, deceitful or misrepresenting a client
Court documents show that because Raines never responded to the complaints when they were filed, the Supreme Court ruled that he admitted to the allegations by default.
Raines told The Telegraph that he could not speak on the matter as he is appealing the decision from the justices. He has been an attorney since 2006.
Macon lawyer wrongly used $5,000 in client money, justices say
Raines represented a client indicted in September 2021 on charges of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. Raines told the suspect's mother he was working on a plea deal in the case and needed $5,000, according to court documents.
She provided the $5,000 in a check to Raines on March 9, 2022, according to supreme court records. He deposited the check into his account with Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts, which is intended for "raising money for charitable purposes, primarily the provision of civil legal services to indigent persons," according to the American Bar Association.
Raines proceeded to write four checks from that account later that month, totaling $7,150, according to court records. Over the next few months, the balance in his account dropped to less than $10.
The justices wrote in court records that Raines spent the money on personal expenses.
In that case, his client entered a guilty plea on May 5, 2022, but the court "did not accept a plea deal of a fine in lieu of time served and sentenced the son to two years in confinement," the justices said in a court document.
The client's mother asked Raines to return the $5,000 she had given him, but he told the mother that the money was given to the superior court clerk. Court records state that when the mother contacted the clerk, they said they could not accept money without a court order. Raines told the mother he would personally pay her back, but "he failed to return the money by this date," justices said in court documents.
He returned the money in cash in September 2022, but not until after she filed a complaint with the state Bar.
Macon lawyer held in contempt multiple times
In another case that Raines worked on, his client's trial was set for August 2022 and rescheduled so they could "hire other legal counsel to replace Raines," Georgia Supreme Court justices wrote in court records.
In that case, Raines failed to appear at a status hearing on December 1, 2022. He provided notice but dated the notice incorrectly, and the judge in the case scheduled a hearing to determine if Raines should be held in contempt, court records say.
The judge wanted Raines to explain "why, after previously being warned and admonished, he should not be found in contempt for his unexcused failure," justices said.
Raines was held in contempt, according to court documents. That was the fourth time he had faced a contempt hearing related to his attendance and notice issues.
After failing to appear in several cases in the Southwestern Judicial Circuit, he was removed from assigned pending cases, court records say.
Lawyer accused of ignoring client in lead-up to trial
Court records state that Raines was appointed to take over another attorney's client when they retired in a case set to go to trial in April 2022. The attorney told the court that Raines had been given information about the case.
When the trial time arrived, Raines had not inspected the evidence, visited his client, or responded to prosecutors trying to get in touch with him.
The trial was rescheduled several times, until November 2022, when the client asked the judge to remove Raines from his case because he could not communicate with him.
"During Raines's representation, he did not communicate with the client, did not respond to the client's requests for information and updates in his case, did not file anything on the client's behalf after entering an appearance and did not prepare for trial," the justices said.
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