Bar Complaint Defense
No matter how good of a lawyer you are, at some point in your career you may be faced with a Bar grievance. This is especially true if you are a solo practitioner or if you work in a small firm. In many cases, the charges will be entirely baseless. Other times, a lawyer will have committed a mistake that deserves a confidential reprimand rather than disbarment, but an angry former client will press the Bar to pursue disbarment nonetheless.
Although the State Bar of Georgia’s Office of General Counsel has a responsibility to screen for and weed out frivolous Bar grievances, the process is far from fool proof. The fact-specific nature of the screening process makes it impossible for the Office of General Counsel to summarily dismiss all Bar grievances that lack merit. If an angry former client goes to the Bar and files a statement filled with assertions that are simply not true, the lawyer is then tasked with responding to those allegations. Even if the allegations are completely false, this can be an emotionally gut-wrenching process for any lawyer who finds himself or herself in this position, and it will be difficult for the responding lawyer to maintain his or her objectivity throughout the process. Even worse, if the false set of facts alleged by an angry ex-client cannot be summarily disproven, then the matter will often be transferred to the “next level,” and the lawyer will find himself or herself explaining the true facts of the situation to the Investigative Panel of the State Bar.
If you find yourself faced with a Bar grievance, we can help. We can work with you as a team and take any level of involvement that you prefer – from appearing before the Bar on your behalf and handling the matter in full to simply consulting with you and reviewing your submissions to the Bar before you send them. We understand how important your license to practice law is to you. Whether the charges against you are serious, frivolous, or somewhere in between, we can work with you to obtain the best result possible.