Lawyers are trained in how to make legal arguments, using evidence to support those arguments.
Most bar complaints against attorneys are dismissed without action for a variety of reasons.
Setting aside issues of corruption within bar associations (which is an issue, because it does happen), and setting aside complaints that have no merit whatsoever (which also happens), logic dictates that there is a number of complaints that should get action, especially when talking about an area of law that is widely known to be the most corrupt in the legal industry: divorce lawyers. The question is why.
First.
Bar complaints have a high evidentiary standard usually–clear preponderance of the evidence–which is higher than the normal civil standard of proof of preponderance of the evidence (often thought of as 51%), and less than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” criminal standard (often thought of as greater than 90% certainty), what “clear preponderance of the evidence” precisely means is unclear, but it means something more than what one would normally see in a civil case.
Second.
Disciplinary committees are staffed mostly by lawyers, who, after investing all the time and effort to become a lawyer, and understanding how difficult a job it can be, are understandably reluctant to find that a colleague should be disciplined for making honest, or understandable mistakes.
But, even acknowledging these factors, logic tells us that there must still be a significant portion of potential complaints about unethical lawyers that should get the attention they deserve but don’t. Again, the question is why?
And the answer is: evidence.
More accurately, the answer is not understanding how to explain what the unethical lawyer did that was a violation of the rules of professional conduct, and how to prove that violation with evidence.
So how do you file a bar complaint that gets results? And by results, not a complaint that results in the lawyer being disciplined, but a complaint that is treated seriously, and gets investigated thoroughly? And then might result in discipline, but even if it doesn’t, causes the lawyer to consider changing their behavior?
Start with reading the rules of professional conduct for your state. You should do this early in the divorce case, and reread them periodically. Look at our Ethical Rules for links to your state’s attorney ethical rules. All bar associations have “comments” to the rules. This provides guidance for lawyers on how the rule is interpreted. Ideally, get a copy of the rules with the comments in PDF format, print them as a booklet, and keep them handy. They should look as beat up as mine…
Third.
Organize your evidence logically and put it together in an understandable format. Then write your grievance using specific evidence for your allegations of how the lawyer violated the rule, and submit it.