In re Temple

This disciplinary matter is before the Court on the petition for voluntary discipline filed by Joanna Temple (State Bar No. 701805), prior to the issuance of a formal complaint, see Bar Rule 4-227 (b) (2). In her petition, Temple, who became a member of the Georgia Bar in 1990, admits that she pled guilty in New York to a misdemeanor violation of attempted criminal usury in the second degree. The criminal charge related to her role as lead counsel for payday lending companies, in which she advised those companies and their employees to intentionally violate New York’s criminal usury laws. The…