Attorney in Fulton Trump case fights to keep his law license

In documents filed in the disciplinary proceeding, Clark has argued the disciplinary board does not have the authority to punish him for advising Trump or from dissenting from his superiors’ view that there was no significant fraud in the 2020 election. Among other things, he also has argued his conduct “was not improper, independently wrongful or otherwise unlawful.”

Clark also faces two felony counts in Fulton County for the same actions cited in the bar complaint. He has pleaded not guilty and assailed the charges as politically motivated.

Clark isn’t the only Georgia defendant facing disciplinary action from the legal community. Attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell – who pleaded guilty to various charges in October – also face ethics complaints in various jurisdictions. So do defendants John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani and Ray Smith.

It’s unclear how successful those efforts will be. New York has suspended Giuliani’s law license, and other attorneys have faced sanctions. But many of the ethics complaints have failed to gain traction.

Teter, the 65 Project attorney, said state disciplinary panels are accustomed to dealing with more common complaints about lawyers – such as stealing money from clients. He said they must adjust to the extraordinary threat posed by Trump – the likely 2024 Republican presidential nominee – and his enablers.

But he said the complaints have already had a deterrent effect.

“We are prepared to continue our effort to deter the abuse of the legal system,” he said.

Malcolm, the Heritage Foundation attorney, called the effort to discipline the attorneys “lawfare at its worst” that could come back to haunt anti-Trump partisans.

“I think this will have a chilling effect on the legal profession,” Malcolm said. “The chickens may come home to roost when the shoe is on the other foot.”