Albany attorney accused of multiple ethics violations in petition to Georgia’s Supreme Court

ALBANY – An Albany attorney is being accused of falsifying affidavits, misappropriating client funds and harassing private citizens with frivolous lawsuits among other things in formal complaints to the Georgia Supreme Court by the State Bar of Georgia. 

Joseph Durham Jr., who’s been a member of the State Bar since 2003 is named in three separate complaints, alleging probable cause that he committed three separate ethics violations. The Albany Herald obtained these documents and has interviewed multiple people connected to the cases both on and off the record, including alleged victims and local attorneys who said they wish to warn others about Durham’s violations.

Durham is still able to practice law as the judicial process unfolds – this could take up to a year.

The first petition, filed on Nov. 15, 2024, alleges that Durham falsified affidavits from clients. These falsified affidavits were submitted to opposing counsel in a lawsuit Durham filed against a family he was suing for defamation on behalf of a client. This client alleged the family created a GoFundMe account implying Durham’s client had a mental disorder. 

The petition further alleges that Durham used confidential information obtained from his clients during their attorney-client relationship to their disadvantage and to his own benefit in the lawsuit against the family.  Additionally, the petition claims Durham filed a frivolous lawsuit against the family,  made false statements to a third party and made false statements during the disciplinary proceedings.

The complaint alleges Durham sent a letter to the family threatening to “publicize scandalous allegations (all of which appeared irrelevant to the lawsuit)” if the family failed to pay Durham $250,000. The petition also reads that the family incurred about $145,000 in legal fees defending the lawsuit. 

The petition states that the appropriate discipline for these violations would be disbarment. 

The second petition was filed Nov. 18, 2024. The accusations in this petition stem from an incident on March 4, 2023, on Lake Eufaula where Durham engaged in disturbing behavior, including profanity and physical threats toward an angler. He also impersonated another individual.  

Following this incident, Durham filed a lawsuit against people who shared a video of the event that became viral online, engaging in actions deemed frivolous and without merit by the trial court. He is accused of harassing and maliciously injuring another party through unwarranted legal claims, improperly communicating with a represented party, and making dishonest and misleading statements to the court. 

Durham was sanctioned by the trial court to pay $49,918.36 in attorney’s fees and costs for one of the individuals in the lawsuit.

This petition called for Durham to be “appropriately disciplined.” 

The third petition was filed on April 2, finding probable cause that Durham violated numerous Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. These include those related to client communication, diligence, fees, handling client funds, termination of representation, truthfulness in court and communication with represented parties. 

He is accused of misappropriating $1.5 million in settlement funds, pertaining to a medical malpractice lawsuit, regarding a wrongful death. 

“Respondent was ‘kiting,’ using new money to pay old obligations, when he should have been holding the other clients’money in trust all along,” the petition reads.  

More alleged victims of Durham rallied together in a since removed Facebook group, called “Victims of Joe Durham.” The private group had more than 50 members and at least 100 requests to join. 

One of these members was Jim Harrod, who has a family member involved in a case with Durham. Harrod alleged that Durham was using false affidavits in the case. Harrod said there are dozens of other stories of wrongdoing by Harrod in the group, dating back to three years ago; although, he said he hasn’t been able to confirm all of them as not all of them have been filed as official legal complaints.

“I wanted to make this public because he’s constantly … using people, taking advantage of people and stealing from them,” Harrod said. “My goal is to make people aware of what he’s been accused of so he can stop.” 

Harrod said Durham is known to threaten victims who speak out against him with lawsuits. This became clear as numerous people requested to speak off the record to The Albany Herald about their history with Durham.

The Albany Herald tried to reach Durham on his cell number but did not receive a response. 

Durham’s attorney, Lester Tate, released this statement to the media:

“Joe Durham, Jr. has been a member in good standing of the State Bar of Georgia for over 20 years. During that time, he has faithfully and effectively represented his clients and served his community. It costs nothing to file a Bar complaint. Even individuals who have no connection to a lawyer or a case in which the lawyer is involved can file a complaint. That doesn’t mean those complaints have merit or are truthful. Lawyers are frequent targets of such allegations because any case that is tried has a winner and a loser. Fortunately, the State Bar has a process for hearing and deciding complaints. We look forward to defending against those claims in that forum, instead of through news or social media.”

The Supreme Court of Georgia appointed LaRae Dixon Moore as the special master in this matter on April 3. Kathleen Joyner, the public information officer of the Supreme Court of Georgia pointed to this website to explain the process of lawyer disciplinary matters within the State Bar. 

“Georgia lawyers are bound by strict rules of ethics in all of their professional dealings,” the site reads. “The Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct help define a lawyer’s obligations to clients, to the judicial system, and to the public. Although the Supreme Court of Georgia retains ultimate authority to regulate the legal profession, the State Bar of Georgia’s Office of the General Counsel serves as the Court’s administrative arm to investigate and prosecute claims that a lawyer has violated the ethics rules.”