ARTFUL DODGER: How Lin Wood managed to escape being disbarred
Everything Trump touches dies, as the popular saying goes, and the most recent casualty is the recently inglorious law career of one Lin Wood, an attorney closely associated with Trump’s most desperate attempts to retain power, attempts that would eventually lead to Wood’s disbarment.
Would lead to his disbarment.
But Wood got in the way of what “would” have happened and officially “retired” from the Georgia State Bar.
Or he’s trying to retire, as explained below.
Georgia’s Bar Association held a disciplinary hearing in May but had not yet issued its decision. There was not a lot of suspense in the hearing itself, and the result, though not released, was almost pre-ordained.
A final decision by the Bar Association may only be appealed to the state Supreme Court, and you can imagine how much state supreme courts enjoy hearing such appeals.
Wood got into trouble in just about every courtroom he entered in the post-election period.
One can read Wood’s full resignation letter here (Report continues below):
Lin Wood, who was part of the Trump legal team attempting to overturn the election, has agreed to permanent retirement from the practice of law rather than his likely disbarment. pic.twitter.com/kLeC8gOVXU
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 5, 2023
Correct. Wood needs “permission” to retire because disciplinary proceedings can include fines and penalties, but the bar lacks jurisdiction if one officially retires first.
So the bar may not “allow” him to retire just yet. They may not be done with him.
It will be interesting to see whether Georgia accepts Wood’s retirement or goes through with the final decision to implement those penalties, perhaps fines and restitution for costs.
It is fairly hard to get disbarred — at least, for those who are making honest efforts and doing diligent work.
But dishonesty is the single quickest route to the destination. Courts see witnesses lie every day. But the system cannot work if the court cannot rely on an attorney’s word.
It always surprises lay people. Yes, attorneys may be dishonest in the process of getting clients, and they have a terrible reputation for embellishing matters to clients.
But when it comes to talking to another attorney about a proceeding or in communication with the Court, an attorney’s word has to be rock solid.
You cannot simply file stuff you know isn’t true or haven’t investigated sufficiently, filing mere assertions.
Wood, Rudy Giuliani, Sydney Powell, Jenna Ellis, and others all have faced disciplinary suits. So far, it seems as though Ellis is the only one who will likely escape with only a censure.
The rest of them seem destined for permanent disbarment.
Wood seemed to know what was coming.
His disbarment springs from accusations of misconduct in Michigan for filing bogus election lawsuits; he’s feuded with various other right-wing conspiracists, and three of his former colleagues have sued him for defamation.
So legal careers are dying due to “touching” on Trump’s issues.
But that isn’t the end of it.
From a Rolling Stone report:
“Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell have both been sued for defamation for pushing lies about rigged voting machines. John Eastman, the mastermind of the fake electors scheme that supposedly would have allowed Trump to stay in office, is facing nearly a dozen disciplinary charges the State Bar Court of California and could be disbarred himself. The home of Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official Trump wanted to elevate to attorney general, was raided by the FBI last year as part of the DOJ’s investigation into the effort to overturn the election. Giuliani, Powell, Eastman, and Clark have all been in the crosshairs of federal prosecutors.”
Yeah.
That’s a problem. In the process of “dying” by touching Trump, disbarment is only the first step.
There are lawsuits in the pike and…Jack Smith is out there — every bit as much a threat to a man like Wood as he is to Donald Trump.
A lot of what happened after the election “touched” on a giant conspiracy. We will see if Smith believes he can prove it reached criminality.
Everything Trump touches dies.
Today, it was formerly prominent Georgia attorney, Lin Wood’s legal career.
I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com and on Twitter @JasonMiciak
Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author
