If a complaint is not investigated, it becomes open to the public at the time when the State Bar advises the complainant that no investigation will occur. If an investigation is performed, complaints and subsequent correspondence between those involved generally become open to the public when the investigation is concluded and a decision made whether to pursue the lawyer in formal proceedings, unless the respondent specifically waives confidentiality earlier in the proceedings. If the charges against an attorney are found to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, the attorney may be referred to a diversion program, required to pay restitution, be issued an informal reprimand or censure, ordered to pay costs, placed on inactive disability status, suspended or disbarred. Mediation is an option during the prescreening phase of a complaint. If the alleged misconduct is relatively minor, and it appears that the parties could benefit from getting together and discussing their concerns with a trained mediator, the matter may be referred to one of the lawyer or non-lawyer mediators throughout the state.
Mediation is optional.
Lawyers who decline to mediate will have their matters referred to the normal disciplinary process. Diversion Programs Diversion is a program which shifts the emphasis in cases involving minor acts of misconduct away from disciplinary sanctions and toward rehabilitation. It is designed to address minor acts of ethical impropriety which typically can be linked to poor law office management, chemical dependency, or other behavioral health problems. Diversion is not available in cases which would warrant a suspension or disbarment or where the attorney has acted dishonestly or in breach of a fiduciary duty. Diversion is not an alternative to discipline in cases of serious misconduct or which factually present little hope that diversion will achieve program goals.