in the Matter of Andre Keith Sanders, 303 Ga. 293

Andre Keith Sanders, Georgia Bar member since 1972, was subject to multiple Florida disciplinary matters principally involving fraudulent debt-collection practices.
Sanders filed a Petition for Disciplinary Revocation with Leave to Apply for Readmission under Florida Rule 3-7.12; the Florida Supreme Court accepted it, imposing a disciplinary revocation (tantamount to disbarment) with eligibility to seek readmission after five years.
Georgia initiated reciprocal-discipline proceedings based on the Florida sanction; Sanders acknowledged service but did not file any responsive pleading in Georgia, rendering him in default.
The Review Panel recommended reciprocal discipline: a five-year suspension in Georgia with reinstatement conditioned on proof of compliance with Florida reinstatement rules.
The central question was whether Florida’s disciplinary revocation procedure is sufficiently similar to Georgia disciplinary procedures (notably whether absence of an explicit admission of misconduct precludes reciprocal discipline).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether reciprocal discipline is appropriate when an attorney is subject to Florida disciplinary revocation under Rule 3-7.12	State Bar: Florida’s disciplinary revocation is tantamount to disbarment and is sufficiently similar to Georgia voluntary-surrender/resignation procedures to permit reciprocal discipline	Sanders (by default) did not contest; Review Panel considered but noted Florida’s rule does not require explicit admission of misconduct	Court held reciprocal discipline appropriate and adopted the Review Panel’s recommendation for a five-year suspension with conditions for reinstatement
Whether the absence of an explicit admission of guilt under Florida’s procedure bars reciprocal discipline in Georgia	State Bar: Florida’s procedure (formerly disciplinary resignation) is functionally equivalent to Georgia procedures despite not requiring a formal admission; the sanction is tantamount to disbarment	Implicit defense: Georgia has rules that emphasize findings/admissions of misconduct (argued by Review Panel as a possible distinction)	Court found distinctions (e.g., Fry) inapposite here and concluded the Florida procedure’s effect and record suffice to support reciprocal discipline

In the Matter of Fry, 300 Ga. 862 (discussing when a resignation without admission is not acceptable for clearing disciplinary record)
In the Matter of Davidson, 269 Ga. 901 (recognizing Florida disciplinary resignation as substantially equivalent to Georgia voluntary surrender)