All attorneys must abide by a code of professional conduct. If one violates this rule, you have every right to lodge a formal complaint against him/her.
Misconduct can range from failing to return your file after it has been resolved, to mishandling money or property.
Rule 8.3 of your state’s rules of professional conduct requires you to report any attorney misconduct you become aware of. Here is where you can do just that.
1. Your State Bar
No matter where an attorney is licensed to practice law, all lawyers must abide by ethical standards. Any attorney found breaching them could face disciplinary action by their state bar; penalties range from reprimanding to disbarment depending on the severity of their offenses. It’s crucial that members of the public know where and how they can report attorney misconduct to help safeguard the integrity of legal profession.
Lawyers have an obligation to report violations of their state’s Rules of Professional Conduct by other attorneys; however, in most states this obligation is minimally defined; for example in New York Rule 8.3 only requires attorneys reporting such misconduct to a tribunal “with the power to investigate or act upon this information”, such as court where case is pending or Grievance Committee/Disciplinary Board.
Rule 8.3 applies only when another attorney’s behavior raises substantial doubt about their honesty, trustworthiness or fitness to be an attorney. Serious misconduct such as escrow defalcations or criminal activity must be reported immediately while other acts that should be reported include failure to communicate with clients effectively, failing to return phone calls and letters promptly from clients and repeated and consistent neglect of client matters.
Attorneys have an ethical duty to report misconduct that could create conflicts of interest for themselves. Before reporting such misconduct, care must be taken as there may be the potential that reporting could lead to an investigation of one’s own conduct; furthermore, attorneys generally need the consent of both the offending lawyer and any confidential information disclosed before disclosing them – failure to do so may violate Rule 1.6.
If you are uncertain whether an attorney’s conduct warrants reporting, contact your bar association for more information. Staff can give an overview of local rules and how grievances are addressed at their bar; additionally they can tell if this incident meets the threshold for filing a formal complaint.
2. Your Firm
As an employee of a large law firm, you may become aware of unethical conduct by fellow attorneys in your office and wonder whether reporting it to either your firm or supervisor is your obligation. In short: yes. The New York Rules of Professional Conduct [22 NYCRR 1200] require you to promptly report knowledge of an attorney violating any rule of professional conduct; however, this obligation should be narrowly interpreted. According to the Rules, lawyers only have an obligation to report another attorney’s misconduct when their knowledge raises “substantial doubt as to their honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as lawyers.” Regardless, however, it should be noted that in such situations you do not owe a duty of disclosure regarding misconduct that violates confidentiality obligations with clients.
If you have serious concerns about an attorney or LPP in your office, filing a formal complaint to Disciplinary Counsel via its Complaint Form should be your next step. An OPC attorney will review this form to assess if it contains information that might indicate potential ethical violations; then OPC staff will reach out directly to gather more information as well as conduct personal or telephone interviews to collect more data and gather evidence of violations.
As it’s important to recognize, not every concern about an attorney’s conduct rises to the level of filing a bar grievance, it is essential that honest disagreement or mistakes don’t constitute unethical conduct. An honest difference of opinion over legal fees could potentially be brought before a committee dedicated to fee resolution for resolution.
The legal profession relies heavily on self-regulation to maintain high ethical standards. Grievance committees consist of volunteers from both lawyers and nonlawyers who dedicate their time voluntarily investigating complaints from members of the public about unethical lawyers. Though they do this work without payment, these members of society see it as their duty to serve society by keeping everyone protected against unethical lawyers.
Grievance committees determine whether there is probable cause that an attorney or LPP engaged in unethical conduct, usually leading to either an informal admonition or, in more serious cases, public censure and suspension.
3. Your Clients
In certain circumstances, it may be important for you to notify your client directly of an opposing attorney’s misconduct directly. For instance, if an opposing lawyer takes without permission and accuses your client of fraud without consent then this should be reported immediately to them as serious misconduct which needs to be reported immediately. Whether an allegation raises “substantial questions” about their honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as an attorney must be determined case-by-case but lawyers are not obliged to report every minor Rule violation[1]
If you decide to report misconduct to your client, keep records of what transpired and when, in case a disciplinary investigation ensues later.
4. Yourself
Determining whether a specific situation constitutes attorney misconduct can be difficult, but if you suspect such misconduct it should be reported immediately to authorities. Your obligation under New York Rules of Professional Conduct (22 NYCRR 1200) to do so may limit how far back this obligation goes. Your obligation to disclose information about another lawyer only arises if you possess firsthand knowledge of misconduct that raises substantial doubt about his/her honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in general; in such an instance the information should not be protected as confidential by virtue of coming from clients who refuse disclosure or participating in accredited lawyer assistance programs.
If you do decide to file a report, be aware that State Bar agencies tend to move slowly and fail to pursue complaints aggressively; so your efforts might be in vain. In addition, State Bar agencies usually do not reimburse clients whose attorneys have stolen money from them.
If your differences with an attorney cannot be resolved, consider taking steps such as filing a formal complaint, seeking another legal opinion to evaluate your situation, or seeking independent legal advice on your own. Document your efforts carefully including copies of letters exchanged between yourself and the lawyer as well as phone calls made and received, emails sent back and forth etc.