SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA
Case No. S14U0705
Atlanta May 19, 2014
The Honorable Supreme Court met pursuant to adjournment.
The following order was passed:
IN RE: FORMAL ADVISORY OPINION NO. 13-1
Upon consideration of the petition for discretionary review filed by the Office
of General Counsel of the State Bar of Georgia in the above-styled Formal Advisory
Opinion issued by the Formal Advisory Opinion Board, the same is hereby granted
pursuant to Rule 4-403 (d) of the Rules and Regulations for the Organization and
Government of the State Bar of Georgia to consider the Board's response to the
following questions:
1. Does a Lawyer1 violate the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct when
he/she conducts a "witness only" real estate closing?
2. Can a Lawyer who is closing a real estate transaction meet his/her
obligations under the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct by reviewing, revising
as necessary, and adopting documents sent from a lender or from other sources?
3. Must all funds received by a Lawyer in a real estate closing be deposited
into and disbursed from the Lawyer's trust account?
The State Bar of Georgia and any other interested party filing a brief shall
follow the briefing schedule set forth in Supreme Court Rule 10, counting from the
date of this order granting review. State Bar Rule 4-403 (d).
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA
Clerk’s Office, Atlanta
I hereby certify that the above is a true extract from
the minutes of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto
affixed the day and year last above written.
1
Bar Rule 1.0 (j) provides that "Lawyer" denotes a person authorized by the Supreme
Court of Georgia or its Rules to practice law in the State of Georgia, including persons admitted
to practice in this State pro hac vice.