Georgia Trial Lawyer Surrenders License After Using Insurance Settlement Proceeds

The Georgia Supreme Court has accepted the voluntary license surrender of a plaintiffs’ attorney who had been in practice for more than 45 years.

Richard L. Middleton Jr., of Savannah, acknowledged that he had violated Georgia Bar rules by using funds from a $100,000 trust account that held proceeds from an auto insurance settlement. The Bar accepted Middleton’s petition to surrender his law license and the court agreed.

“We have reviewed the record and agree to accept Middleton’s petition for voluntary surrender of his license, which is tantamount to disbarment,” the court wrote in its order, posted Wednesday. “Accordingly, it is ordered that the name of Richard H. Middleton, Jr., be removed from the rolls of persons authorized to practice law in the State of Georgia.”

Middleton, a licensed attorney since 1977, managed his own firm in Savannah. He represented injury victims, including many in accidents, product liability and environmental safety cases, according to a Distinguished Justice Associates website. He also handled business and employment litigation, insurance claims and insurance fraud matters.

“Richard Middleton has achieved more landmark settlements, judgment, and verdicts in more than 40 states throughout the U.S. than any other lawyer in the Savannah, Georgia area, netting seven- and eight-figure financial recovery figures for his clients,” the website reads.

The Supreme Court explained that in 2016, Middleton was associated as co-counsel by a South Carolina attorney, to represent a client injured in a car crash in the Savannah area. Middleton filed a lawsuit then settled it for the policy limits of $100,000. The insurance carrier was not named in the order.

The settlement funds were placed in Middleton’s interest-bearing trust account pending the resolution of the client’s South Carolina workers’ compensation case. In 2021, the Carolina attorney resolved the workers’ comp case after the insurance carrier agreed to waive a subrogation lien.

But Middleton would not disburse the settlement funds to the client or the South Carolina attorney, despite multiple requests, the court noted. He later admitted that the trust fund was depleted because he had incrementally withdrawn the proceeds for personal use and had withdrawn much more than the fees he was due.

The lawyer told the court that he has since fully reimbursed the client and the Carolina attorney. Middleton, who earned his law degree at Washington & Lee University, had no previous disciplinary actions against him, according to the Georgia Bar.