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Report Attorneys

You might have heard the phrase "bar grievance" or "she needs to be grieved"; this refers to the official complaint mechanism by which we the people submit a report of misconduct.

If you request records from a court clerk, you might come across some documents that indicate potential impropriety on the part of an attorney. If you go sit in as a court watcher, you may witness something that just doesn't seem right. The more familiar you are with the ethics rules, the more likely you are to recognize conduct that needs to be reported.

If we witness an attorney do something that we believe is wrong, it probably is wrong. We simply compare his behavior to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and if his behavior puts him at odds with it, then we have an ethical duty to report it.

It doesn't matter whether or not the attorney was involved in your case. It doesn't matter whether or not you like the attorney. He might be a fine upstanding person, and simply incompetent. Unfortunately, many are.

Some attorneys have the highest and best intentions. Other attorneys are stupid, or lazy, or both... even though they bill handsomely for their so-called services. Yet others knowingly and arrogantly abuse the position of trust that they enjoy.

Standard of Conduct​

Attorneys have sworn to abide by certain rules of conduct. Every state bar association has its own standard. All the states have adopted a version of the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct, so the rules are all nearly identical across all states, but there are minor differences in wording and numbering. There is no separate ruleset for attorneys who practice in federal courts; they simply have the ruleset applicable in the state where they obtained their bar card.

The American Bar Association has compiled a list that may be helpful in locating the ruleset for your state.

For example, in Texas, the reference is called "Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct" (TDRPC) and the current version of it can be downloaded from txcourts.gov in PDF format. Essentially, it says that attorneys need to be honest, not lie or cheat or steal... but as you might expect for attorneys, it had to be spelled all out in excruciating and inescapable detail: as of July 2025, it consisted of 118 pages. Every attorney in Texas must abide by every single bit of it, and has sworn to do so.

Reporting Mechanism​

While this varies per state, they all provide a way for you to report an attorney, and usually at least two ways: online, via web form, or download the PDF from their website.

For example, in Texas, one can visit sbotservices.texasbar.com and download the PDF in English or Spanish.

What to Say in the Report​

We want to speak to the violation of a specific rule. This is not about how much of a scumbag you believe the attorney to be; this is only about his behavior that you believe violated a specific rule.

Look at the rule. Cite the rule, including a subsection, if pertinent. Copy and paste the rule. Paste it again and begin editing that second paste: change it from conditional or subjunctive language (an attorney would be unethical if he were to make a false statement) to a past-tense (he made a false statement) allegation that can be supported by the objective evidentiary facts of what behavior you witnessed.

Very little of the report form is dedicated to the unethical behavior itself. Most of the report form is asking you for your personal information. Obviously, this is not really needed, although some states have review boards who will use your "failure to fill out the form" as an excuse to reject your submission altogether. So if you, like us, are more privacy-minded and do not wish to place all your personal information into the public record, where any requester could access it, then you could do what we do: simply fill out those fields with "N/A" or "I don't know" or similar.

Report Recipient​

This also varies by state; usually it is a dedicated review board or the state Supreme Court. You will need to check it out for your own state.

Follow-Up​

You may very well receive a letter in the mail afterwards, saying something along the lines of "we investigated our fellow attorneys and found no wrongdoing". Don't worry about that.

You may also receive an indication that there is an option for you to appeal their decision to do nothing, by filling out some other form and sending it to an appellate review board. This additional step is optional.

Putting It Into Practice
  • Find and download the attorney rules for your state.
  • Find and download the bar grievance/complaint form.
  • Go notice specifically which attorneys did specifically what wrong. (For instance, go be a court watcher, attend city council meetings, or request some records a city attorney wouldn't want you to have, and it won't take long: you will see attorney do something unethical.)
  • With your current facts/timeline/story in mind, skim through the rules and mark potential good matches.
  • Look up the unethical attorney's name, bar number, and optionally a physical address.
  • For that state, find and make a note of where a bar grievance/complaint form is to be sent.
  • Optionally find and download the rules that the review/disciplinary board must follow.