State Bar accuses suspended Albany attorney of continuing practice

ALBANY — The State Bar of Georgia is asking the State Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Georgia to exercise its contempt powers and impose appropriate sanctions to enforce compliance and deter future violations of a suspension order against Albany attorney Joseph P. Durham.

State Bar General Counsel Russell D. Willard said that, despite having actual notice of his suspension and its attendant obligations, Durham has continued to engage in conduct prohibited by the order, thereby undermining the integrity of the disciplinary process and the court’s ability to regulate the practice of law.

“Compliance with a suspension order is not discretionary; it is a mandatory condition imposed to protect the public and preserve confidence in the legal profession,” Willard wrote in a petition asking that Durham be sanctioned by the Disciplinary Board.

Durham received a temporary suspension of his law license after the State Bar filed a petition for an emergency suspension on Sept. 9 on the basis that he “poses a substantial threat of harm to his clients or the public.”

Durham was accused of lying about settlement money, falsifying documents and signatures, and using client funds for personal matters, among other allegations. He’s been a member of the State Bar since 2003 and is named in three separate complaints, alleging that he committed ethics violations. The misappropriation of more than a cumulative $2 million from various clients is among those claims. 

On Sept. 29, 2025, the court suspended Durham “pending the resolution of various disciplinary matters against him.” The court explicitly stated that Durham “may not return to the practice of law until further order of [the] court.” But the investigation by the State Bar indicates that Durham started collecting settlement fees shortly after the suspension.

“State Bar Rule 4-219 (b) (1) requires a suspended lawyer to immediately cease the practice of law in Georgia and … within 30 days, notify all clients of his inability to
represent them,” Willard noted in the complaint against Durham. “Within 45 days after a final judgment of disbarment or suspension, the respondent shall certify to the court that he has satisfied the requirements of this rule, which requires a suspended lawyer to remove any indicia of the respondent as a lawyer, legal assistant, legal clerk or person with similar status.”

The State Bar’s investigation shows $257,841 collected by Durham after his suspension went into effect.

“The foregoing behavior shows that respondent is actively engaging in the practice of law, and the court should hold respondent in contempt for violating its Sept. 29, 2025 order,” Willard wrote in the complaint. “(Durham’s failure) to abide by the order is therefore contemptuous, warrants the exercise of this court’s contempt powers, and justifies the imposition of appropriate sanctions to enforce compliance and deter future violations.”