Michigan Attorney Discipline Roundup: April 22, 2026

Christopher J. Woolf — Disbarment

The Grievance Administrator filed a Notice of Filing of a Judgment of Conviction under MCR 9.120(B)(3) after a jury returned a guilty verdict on August 7, 2025 on all four counts charged in Ingham County Circuit Court.

The convictions were: Count One, Child Sexually Abusive Activity, a felony under MCL 750.145C(2); Count Two, Using a Computer to Commit the Crime of Child Sexually Abusive Activity, a felony under MCL 752.7973(D); Count Three, Accosting a Child for Immoral Purposes, a felony under MCL 750.145A-A; and Count Four, Using a Computer to Commit the Crime of Accosting a Child for Immoral Purposes, a felony under MCL 752.7973(F).

Woolf’s license was automatically suspended on the date of conviction under MCR 9.120(B)(1). The Board issued a Notice of Automatic Interim Suspension on September 12, 2025 in Case No. 25-81-AI. Washtenaw County Hearing Panel #2 subsequently found that the convictions established professional misconduct and ordered disbarment. Woolf’s license has been continuously suspended since August 7, 2025.

Robert A. Canner — Second Disbarment

The Grievance Administrator filed a three-count formal complaint alleging professional misconduct in Canner’s representation of three separate clients. Canner initially answered by invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege as to the majority of the allegations. Before the hearing, he amended his answer to plead no contest to those same allegations. At the hearing, the Grievance Administrator moved to dismiss Count Three, which the panel granted. The findings and resulting discipline rest on Counts One and Two.

Tri-County Hearing Panel #71 found that Canner intentionally misappropriated one client’s funds by retaining them for himself, intentionally misappropriated a second client’s settlement funds by failing to disburse the remaining balance, and intentionally commingled personal funds with client funds by depositing non-client money into his IOLTA account during the period those client funds were required to be held there.

The panel’s original order set Canner’s disbarment to run consecutively with the prior disbarment in Case No. 23-83-GA, placing the effective date at April 17, 2030. Before that order took effect, Canner moved to amend it to change the effective date to December 12, 2025, shifting the discipline to run concurrently rather than consecutively. Following a hearing on the motion, the panel granted the amendment. All other provisions, including the restitution order, remained unchanged. Canner has been continuously ineligible to practice in Michigan since his first disbarment on April 16, 2025.

Zhigang Ma — Reprimand (Reciprocal Discipline)

The Grievance Administrator filed a Notice of Filing of Reciprocal Discipline under MCR 9.120(C), attaching a certified copy of a Final Order Pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 11.26 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO issued that order on January 29, 2026 in Proceeding No. D2026-12, reprimanding Ma and placing him on probation for six months.

The Attorney Discipline Board issued a procedural order on March 10, 2026 directing both parties to notify the Board within 21 days whether they objected to the imposition of comparable Michigan discipline and whether a hearing was requested. On March 10, 2026, both parties responded in writing, stating they neither objected nor requested a hearing. The Board entered its reprimand order on March 18, 2026, with an effective date of April 16, 2026.