In the Matter of Scott L. Podvin

304 Ga. 378

• Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
• Decided: August 27, 2018
• Docket: S18Y1511
• Status: Published

Opinion

304 Ga. 378 FINAL COPY

S18Y1511. IN THE MATTER OF SCOTT L. PODVIN.

PER CURIAM.

This reciprocal discipline matter is before the Court on the State

Disciplinary Review Board’s1 July 5, 2018 report and recommendation that this

Court suspend Scott L. Podvin (State Bar No. 512283) from the practice of law

in Georgia for a period of 18 months and condition his reinstatement in Georgia

on proof of his reinstatement in Florida. See Georgia Rules of Professional

Conduct, former Rule 9.4 (Jurisdiction and Reciprocal Discipline). The State

Bar of Georgia properly served Podvin with a notice of reciprocal discipline, see

1 On January 12, 2018, this Court entered an order amending Part IV of the Rules and Regulations for the Organization and Government of the State Bar of Georgia (“Bar Rules”), including Bar Rule 4-102 (d), which contains the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. The January 12 order said that “these amendments shall be effective as of July 1, 2018 and shall apply to disciplinary proceedings commenced on or after that date,” except for the amendments to Bar Rules 4-201 (b) and 4-201.1 (b) concerning the composition of the State Disciplinary Board and the State Disciplinary Review Board, which the order then addressed separately. The order also said that “the former rules shall continue to apply to disciplinary proceedings commenced before July 1, 2018” — such as this matter, which was commenced by the issuance of a notice of reciprocal discipline on March 1, 2018 — “provided that, after July 1, 2018, the State Disciplinary Board shall perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Investigative Panel under the former rules, and the State Disciplinary Review Board shall perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Review Panel under the former rules.” former Bar Rule 4-203.1 (Uniform Service Rule), but he failed to acknowledge

service and did not file any response or objection to the imposition of reciprocal

discipline.

Podvin was admitted to practice law in Florida in 1994 and became a

member of the State Bar of Georgia in 2001. On February 16, 2017, the

Supreme Court of Florida approved his “Conditional Guilty Plea for Consent

Judgment” to resolve seven disciplinary matters and imposed an 18-month

suspension with conditions on reinstatement (evaluation and compliance with

all recommendations made by Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc., participation in

the Florida Bar’s binding fee arbitration program, and payment to the Florida

Bar of an administrative fee and investigative costs totaling $2,357.10).

Podvin’s admitted disciplinary violations in Florida involved failing to process

and work on several loan modifications in a timely manner that resulted in long

delays for his clients, failing to provide updates to clients in response to their

requests, and rarely communicating with clients; attempting to avoid payment

to creditors and circumvent a valid debt by entering into a consent judgment

through a legal entity that he knew was already dissolved and then continuing

previous legal work under a new legal entity; and, while being sued by a former

2 associate for unpaid wages, scheduling a hearing when he knew that opposing

counsel was unavailable, attending the hearing, attempting to submit an agreed

order to the court for execution even though no agreement had been reached,

and engaging in ex parte communication with the court by sending a letter

requesting reconsideration of a sanctions order and threatening to file a motion

to recuse.

The State Disciplinary Review Board found no basis for recommending

anything other than substantially similar discipline. See Georgia Rules of

Professional Conduct, former Rule 9.4 (b) (3) (i)-(vi) (listing situations where

a recommendation other than substantially similar discipline is permitted). The

State Disciplinary Review Board did, however, find that it would be impractical

to include as conditions on Podvin’s reinstatement in Georgia the conditions on

his reinstatement in Florida, which involve programs administered and

monitored by, and payment of certain costs to, the Florida Bar. Thus, the State

Disciplinary Review Board recommends that this Court impose as reciprocal

discipline an 18-month suspension running from the date of this Court’s order

with Podvin’s reinstatement conditioned on his proof of reinstatement in

Florida.

3 Having reviewed the record, we agree with the State Disciplinary Review

Board that an 18-month suspension with reinstatement conditioned on proof of

reinstatement in Florida is the appropriate sanction in this reciprocal discipline

matter. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that Scott L. Podvin be suspended

from the practice of law in this State for a period of 18 months from the date of

this opinion. At the end of that period, if Podvin wishes to seek reinstatement,

he must offer proof to the State Bar’s Office of General Counsel that he has

been reinstated to the practice of law in Florida. If the State Bar agrees that this

condition has been met, the State Bar will submit a notice of compliance to this

Court, and this Court will issue an order granting or denying reinstatement. We

remind Podvin of his duties pursuant to former Bar Rule 4-219 (c).

Eighteen-month suspension with condition on reinstatement. Hines, C.

J., Melton, P. J., Benham, Hunstein, Nahmias, Blackwell, Boggs, and Peterson,

JJ., concur.

4 Decided August 27, 2018.

Suspension.

Paula J. Frederick, General Counsel State Bar, Adrienne D. Nash, Jenny

K. Mittelman, Assistant General Counsel State Bar, for State Bar of Georgia.