Retire the Kraken!

At least part of the 2020 election is coming to a close, as Lin Wood, once highly regarded for defending Richard Jewell, but now reduced to Kraken (or perhaps Kraken-adjacent) fame, is retiring his law license. He has been mired in disciplinary and sanctions proceedings for many months, and it appears to be coming to an unceremonious end.

I admit I have no idea how this works in Georgia. In Wisconsin, where I practice, lawyers facing disciplinary investigations or proceedings can’t unilaterally resign or surrender their licenses. SCR 22.19 requires them to petition and, while they are not required to admit that the allegations of misconduct are true, they must acknowledge that they cannot successfully defend against the allegations.

Why did he back down now when he’s been so defiant in the past? Lawyers voluntarily surrender (or petition to revoke) their licenses for a variety of reasons. It could be avoiding the cost of defense (particularly as he is 70 years old and may be interested in retiring anyway); the desire to keep something that hasn’t already been publicized out of the newspaper; even a deal with prosecutors, if he is under criminal investigation. He did give an interview to the Georgia grand jury investigating the Trump attempt to overturn the election there, though as far as I know Lin Wood is not a target. We may never know—Wood has historically liked the limelight but absent some circumstance we don’t know about yet, he doesn’t need to discuss his reasons in public.