On September 8, 2023, the Disciplinary Commission of the Alabama State Bar issued a public reprimand to Florence attorney Andrew Jay Spry. The reprimand was issued after an attorney formerly employed by Spry’s office filed a complaint against him.
The charges cited Spry’s violation of Rules 8.4(c), (d), and (g) of the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct.
According to the complaint, Spry signed final title insurance policies without the attorney’s consent after she was let go from the firm. In order to prepare for the release of the title policy/opinion, the attorney had reviewed a number of dozen title searches at the time of her termination. On the other hand, Spry’s company was months behind in issuing final title insurance policies for closings that the firm had already handled.
To create title policies and opinions, Spry’s company uses Qualia, a real estate software program. The name of the responsible attorney is automatically entered by the software into the statement or opinion. The software also enabled the addition of the attorney’s name as a “signature stamp” to the policy.
Because the attorney handled the closing and served as the title agent, Spry continued to use the attorney’s “signature stamp” in the software to sign the attorney’s name to final title insurance policies after the attorney was fired. However, Spry continued to add her signature to between 20 and 75 additional policies produced by the company after the lawyer revoked permission to do so.
The Disciplinary Commission found that Spry’s actions violated the Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct and issued a public reprimand without general publication.
At the time of writing, Mr. Andrew Jay Spry is listed as an attorney at the Spry Law Firm, serving Florence. He has been licensed to practice in Alabama since 2002 after graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law. His online bio can be found on LinkedIn.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
