Cases are now tried before a Presiding Disciplinary Judge. In the past we tried cases before the Grievance Committee. Although the committee was extraordinary in the time and dedication they devoted, it was difficult to try cases quickly. With the judge, we cut the time in half. The creation of an Appellate Disciplinary Commission.
Every attorney has an appeal of right to any decision made by the judge and hearing board.
Before, it went back to the Grievance Committee and ultimately to the Supreme Court. The judge is doing a good job, the hearing board is doing a good job and we're doing a good job. A typical call Attorney Regulation might get is from a person going through a difficult divorce, or a client whose attorney isn't communicating or won't release files. Also, we receive calls from judges inquiring about an attorney's conduct before the court. The attorney might be unprepared or be dishonest to the court and the judge is looking for information about whether to report it.