If your client expressly instructs you to report knowledge of an opposing lawyer’s serious professional misconduct, you have an obligation to report this conduct; however, its scope can be narrowly circumscribed.
If you suspect attorney misconduct, your complaint should be lodged with the appropriate Attorney Grievance Committee or Disciplinary Counsel office – these offices are listed below.
Client Complaints
When hiring an attorney for legal assistance, you expect them to follow all applicable laws and ethics regulations. Unfortunately, though, mistakes sometimes happen that compromise a case. If you believe your lawyer violated professional standards in some way, filing a complaint through your state bar could be the way out.
New York State Court Rule 1-103(A) establishes the requirement to report an opposing attorney’s misconduct as stated below: A lawyer has an ethical duty to bring to a tribunal any knowledge of professional misconduct by another lawyer that raises substantial doubt about their honesty, trustworthiness or fitness.” However, ethics opinions have demonstrated that for this duty to be met effectively it must go beyond mere suspicion or belief; rather it must involve firsthand knowledge that is relevant to current litigation and unprotected by attorney-client privilege.
Depending on the state, complaints against attorneys will typically be heard by an appropriate disciplinary authority; for New York this includes either the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court or an impartial Grievance Committee composed of both lawyers and non-lawyers. Sanctions against offenders could include suspension from practicing law.
Misconduct can take many forms, from failing to communicate with you – for example by making you wait weeks or more for their return phone call – to serious negligence that impedes on your claim pursuit. A failure by an attorney to inform of key developments could result in the loss of key evidence or expiration of statute of limitation, both which would damage their case and be harmful.
Your attorney could also have handled your finances improperly, such as mixing your funds with theirs or failing to accurately record expenses or income relating to legal matters. This breach of ethics places them in a position where fraudulent activities could benefit from being engaged in.
Bar Association Complaints
If you can’t work out an agreement with your lawyer and can’t find another, one option for filing a complaint could be with the local bar association. Most have an attorney grievance committee that investigates and decides disciplinary measures against any particular lawyer; to find one near you visit this directory of lawyer disciplinary agencies provided by the American Bar Association. In order to file an effective complaint, first-hand knowledge that an attorney violated professional ethics or unprofessional behavior must be demonstrated – feelings, beliefs or suspicion alone won’t do – plus it must describe conduct which can objectively proven unethical or unprofessional behaviour as unethical or unprofessional behavior by an objective investigation committee of that body.
When filing a complaint with a bar association, you will generally need to provide information about yourself and your attorney as well as specifics about any alleged misconduct. Furthermore, any evidence should also be submitted. If the allegations are serious enough, the bar association may contact you for more details before determining if an investigation should take place.
After reviewing your complaint, if it is determined that no violation has occurred of the Rules of Professional Conduct, this office will notify you and close its file. However, should allegations raise serious doubts as to an attorney’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as an attorney, they will be given an opportunity to respond before being heard in a formal hearing process.
Whenever a case is being managed by the bar association, any allegations of misconduct must have already been reported to their office and made known to the Court, in order to avoid unnecessary disruption or sidetracking of proceedings. Should an ethics violation occur which results in discipline by way of public admonition, suspension or disbarment.
State Bar Complaints
If you believe an attorney has violated ethics rules, you may be able to file a formal complaint with their state bar. You can do this through letter writing or by filling out an available form on their website. When filing such a claim, make sure it is detailed enough so the bar can investigate thoroughly your claim.
A state bar grievance committee will review your complaint to assess whether there has been any violation of law and, if appropriate, determine an appropriate punishment. Depending on the severity of the offense committed by the attorney in question, sanctions such as public or private reprimand, fines, repayment of misused funds, probationary status or suspension could apply; once informed of your allegations by the state bar grievance committee. Should you disagree with its outcome, appeal can be filed or alternatively refile a separate complaint with them directly.
Filing a complaint against an attorney should only ever be used as a last resort after efforts at working through issues with them have failed. Be mindful that filing such an action takes time, and does not guarantee success; rather it requires first-hand knowledge that the lawyer engaged in improper conduct that you can document; this knowledge cannot come from feelings, beliefs or suspicion; nor from hearsay.
Complainants against attorneys must give them an opportunity to respond to your allegations, and, if necessary, you may require their attendance at hearings or subpoena records or witnesses. Investigating complaints takes varying lengths of time: in some instances it can be quickly completed without taking disciplinary measures while other times formal complaints must be filed with the Disciplinary Board for consideration.
Disciplinary Board Complaints
Whenever you become aware that another attorney violated a rule that mandates disclosure, you have an ethical duty to report them immediately. Your information must raise “substantial doubt” as to their honesty, trustworthiness or fitness to practice law; any suspicion based on feelings, beliefs or hearsay cannot count as sufficient grounds.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigates allegations of misconduct committed by DOJ attorneys as they carry out their responsibilities to investigate, litigate or provide legal advice for the United States. OPR receives reports from multiple sources such as U.S. Attorney’s offices and other Department components; courts; Congress; state/local government agencies; private citizens as well as criminal defendants.
As soon as an OPR investigation begins, lawyers are informed either via telephone call or an initial complaint letter, known as Form DB-7, sent directly to their address on file. Once notified of an OPR investigation’s initiation they must prepare and file their written response; this document allows lawyers an opportunity to persuade the disciplinary agency that there were no inappropriate acts committed during this disciplinary proceeding and outline any mitigating circumstances that should be taken into consideration.
If the disciplinary agency pursues its investigation, they may request files and records, interview witnesses and subpoena the lawyer to testify. Lawyers who fail to comply with such requests risk suspension from practice.
Once a disciplinary investigation is concluded, the disciplinary agency decides if there was any violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct and imposes appropriate sanctions – depending on its severity; they may also record this misconduct in an attorney’s file.
If a disciplinary agency determines there was no violation, they will close the case with typically include issuing a letter of caution, admonition or reprimand that remains within an attorney’s file and not made public. However, should any complaint be upheld against him/her by upholding their appeal then suspension/disbarment proceedings can begin against an attorney and/or suspension/disbarment can ensue.