Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel is an affiliated office with the Supreme Court of Ohio. Our Office educates, investigates, and prosecutes attorneys and judicial officers who are accused of ethical misconduct. All attorneys who practice law in Ohio must follow certain rules called the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct. Judicial officers (judges and magistrates) have an additional set of rules they must follow called the Code of Judicial of Conduct. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel reviews complaints, which we call "grievances", from the public, judges, and other attorneys to determine whether there is evidence of unethical conduct. If such evidence exists, The Office of Disciplinary Counsel investigates the allegations of misconduct and, when appropriate, files formal disciplinary charges against the attorney or judicial officer for violating our ethical rules. The Office of Disciplinary counsel also investigates allegations regarding the unauthorized practice of law.

Allegations that an attorney has violated the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct or that a judge or magistrate has violated the Code of Judicial conduct are serious. Grievances should not be made lightly or to try to gain an advantage in your dealings with an attorney or Judicial officer. Also, filing a grievance should not take the place of communicating with the attorney to attempt to resolve differences.

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The disciplinary process will NOT serve to:​

• Provide legal advice or representation;

• Force your attorney to withdraw from your case;

• Force your attorney to take a particular course of action in your case;

• Refund the fees you have paid to an attorney;

• Remove a judicial officer from presiding over your case;

• Overturn a judicial officer’s decisions.

A certified grievance committee is part of a local bar association empowered to investigate attorneys who work or reside within a certain geographic area. Aside from the Ohio State Bar Association, the other 31 certified grievance committees do not have the power to investigate judges or magistrates. Additionally, they only have jurisdiction within their respective geographic areas. For example, the Akron Bar Association would not have jurisdiction to investigate a Toledo lawyer who committed misconduct in Toledo. You may contact your local Bar Association to ask if it has a local certified grievance committee.

If you file a grievance with a certified grievance committee, you may appeal the dismissal of your grievance to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Our review is limited to errors of law abuse of discretion.

Clear and open communication is the key to maintaining a productive, positive relationship with your attorney.

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To help avoid miscommunications you should:

• Come to meetings prepared;

• Clearly communicate your goals and expectations;

• Demand a written fee agreement at the beginning of your representation;

• Ask questions if you don’t understand something;

• Disclose all information and background on your case; and,

• Promptly discuss and resolve concerns with your attorney.

Similarly, you should expect your attorney to provide:

• An honest and unbiased assessment of your case, although attorneys are prohibited from guaranteeing results;

• Prompt disclosure of alternative ways to resolve a matter, if any;

• Copies of court documents and letters;

• An update on the status of your case upon your request;

• Adequate and prompt attention to your case;

• A written fee agreement at the beginning of the representation; and,

• Reasonable and timely billing statements and descriptions of expenses.

If you are not satisfied with the service provided by your attorney, first try to resolve any issues by meeting or talking with him or her. If you are having difficulty communicating with your attorney, document your calls to your attorney. Each time you email or call the attorney’s office and leave a message, make a record of it. If you do not receive a return call or email within a reasonable period of time, write a letter to the attorney, preferably with return receipt requested, requesting the attorney contact you within a specified (reasonable) period of time. If you believe that you have made a sincere effort to solve your problem, but you still believe that the attorney should be investigated for his or her conduct, you may file a grievance.

If your grievance is against an attorney, you may file it with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel or with the certified grievance committee where the attorney resides or works. If your grievance is against a judicial officer, you may file it with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel or the Ohio State Bar Association.

No. There is no fee associated with the filing of a grievance.

Click here to complete and submit a grievance against an attorney or judge online using our electronic grievance form. You may also download the grievance form. If mailing the form, be sure to sign it. Unsigned grievance forms will be returned.

No. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel does not represent you and cannot assist you in resolving ongoing legal problems. Our office cannot give legal advice or perform legal services for you. Our office cannot appoint a new attorney for you or require your attorney to withdraw, or the judicial officer to recuse, from your case. You should consult another attorney to advise you of your rights, including potential legal recourse against the attorney about whom you have complained. Any action for damages you may seek against an attorney should not wait until the resolution of the grievance. Your local Bar Association may be able to recommend an attorney for this purpose.

Yes, although we recommend that you identify yourself.

Please note that if you elect to be anonymous, you will receive no information about the result of your filing. We will not discuss the grievance with you, even if you identify yourself as the person who filed the grievance anonymously after the fact.

No. Once you file a grievance against an attorney or judicial officer, our office must determine whether the attorney or judicial officer engaged in unethical conduct.

No. Our office must review the allegations, but we retain the discretion to decline to investigate if the allegations do no amount to unethical conduct.

No. Under Gov. Bar R. V, our investigations are confidential; consequently, you are prohibited from disclosing this information.

Your written or electronic grievance will be reviewed by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel within 90 days to determine if it alleges a violation of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct or the Code of Judicial Conduct.

If our office concludes that a grievance is without merit, or does not allege facts which, if true, would demonstrate professional misconduct or incapacity, we will dismiss the grievance and take no further action. You will be notified of this in writing.

If we do not dismiss the grievance, we will conduct an investigation that ordinarily begins by obtaining a written response from the attorney or judicial officer who is the subject of the grievance. After our investigation, if we determine that the evidence is insufficient to demonstrate misconduct or incapacity or that the overall circumstances do not warrant further action, we will dismiss the grievance, close the file, and notify you in writing of our decision.

At the conclusion of our investigation, if there is substantial and credible evidence of misconduct, our office may file a Formal Complaint with the Board of Professional Conduct of The Supreme Court of Ohio. You will be notified in writing if we pursue formal discipline.

Perhaps. If we pursue the allegations contained in your grievance by filing a complaint with the Board of Professional Conduct, you may be required to testify.

The determination to pursue a grievance may involve a number of factors including the seriousness of the violation(s) and an assessment of the likelihood of proving the alleged misconduct. Our office must establish an attorney or judicial officer's misconduct at trial by clear and convincing evidence. Clear and convincing is a standard of proof that is greater than a preponderance of the evidence but less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. If our office feels that we cannot meet our burden of proof, we will not file a formal complaint.

It depends. Our office makes every effort to ensure grievances are processed, investigated, and resolved in a timely manner. Depending on the circumstances of your grievance, it could take up to one year to investigate your grievance. If the case proceeds beyond the investigation, it could take two years for a final resolution.

No. Our office's decision to dismiss a grievance is final.

No. All grievances - either pending or dismissed - are private and confidential. You can, however, be told if the attorney or judicial officer has been disciplined. To view an attorney’s or judicial officer's disciplinary history, click here. To see if an attorney or judicial officer has a pending disciplinary case before the Board of Professional Conduct, search here.

No. Although an attorney’s refusal to return money or files may be the basis for discipline, which should be reported, our office cannot force an attorney to return money or files. Sometimes, during an investigation, an attorney may volunteer to return money or files to the client, but our office only has the ability to investigate and pursue violations of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.

If you want to dispute the fee you paid, you may contact your local Bar Association to see if it offers fee dispute resolution services.

Our office does not represent clients, and it cannot assist in any type of litigation. You may need to seek the services of another attorney who can assist you with your ongoing legal matter. If you need help finding an attorney, click here.

No. Our office does not provide attorney referrals. You may contact your local Bar Association for a referral to a local attorney.

The Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct are available on our website.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel does not resolve fee disputes, but you may contact your local Bar Association, which may have a Fee Dispute Committee.

If our office elects to file formal disciplinary charges, we file a complaint with the Board of Professional Conduct. A probable cause panel of the Board conducts an initial review to determine if probable cause exists. If there is a finding of probable cause, the Board certifies the complaint and it becomes public. The Board assigns a three-member panel to hear the matter. Assuming a successful prosecution, the Supreme Court will impose a sanction depending on the seriousness of the violation(s) and other factors. Possible sanctions include:

• A public reprimand;

• A suspension from practice of law for a definite term of 6, 12, 18, or 24 months;

• An indefinite suspension (i.e. minimum of two years); or,

• Permanent disbarment.

The grievance will be dismissed and you will be notified in writing of this decision.

While we do not have the authority to remove your attorney or the prosecutor from your case, you may file a grievance if you believe they violated the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct. However, you should raise claims of ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct in the criminal proceeding or on appeal. The disciplinary process is not a substitute for trial or the appellate process. Accordingly, we may delay investigation of the matter while the case or appeal is pending. Upon completion of the judicial proceedings, including any appeal, you may resubmit your grievance along with a copy of the decision. Please understand that the disciplinary process is separate from the judicial process and will have no impact on your criminal case. For a variety of reasons, a finding of ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct by an appellate court does not automatically result in an ethical violation.

While we do not have the authority to remove the judge or magistrate presiding over your case, you may file a grievance if you believe they violated the Code of Judicial Conduct. Please understand that the disciplinary process is separate from the judicial process and will have no impact on your case. Accordingly, we may delay investigation of the matter while the underlying case is pending.

Don’t panic. The LOI is designed to give you a chance to respond to a grievance that has been filed against you. It does not necessarily mean that our office believes that the grievance is well founded. Nor does it mean that our office believes you have committed a disciplinary violation. Our attorneys who review incoming grievances, similar to a court considering a motion to dismiss, ask the attorney or judicial officer to respond to any allegation that, if proven, would constitute a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Don’t ignore the LOI. Although you should not panic, you should treat the LOI seriously and respond within the indicated time frame or request an extension of time to respond from the assigned Assistant Disciplinary Counsel in our office. A surprising number of attorneys make the mistake of failing to respond. A failure to respond may constitute professional misconduct. Our office can pursue discipline for failing to respond to an LOI, even if our investigation reveals that there is no merit to the underlying grievance. (Disciplinary Counsel v. Goebl, 152 Ohio St.3d 498, 2018-Ohio-5, 98 N.E.3d 223).

Seek ethics counsel. You should seek the assistance of counsel if you believe it would assist in responding to the LOI.

Respond fully. Make sure you provide a full and fair disclosure of the relevant facts. Include copies of pertinent documents. Do not include your entire client file unless every document in the file is truly necessary to a complete understanding of your response. Some attorneys and judicial officers make the mistake of failing to respond fully because they believe the grievance has no merit or because they resent spending the time to prepare a response. Vague or incomplete responses could cause our office to misunderstand the facts and to take action it might not have taken if presented with adequate information. A vague or incomplete response or a failure to respond fully to follow-up questions may itself be a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

No. However, our office offers non-binding guidance to lawyers and judicial officers who are faced with ethical issues. If you are a lawyer and have a question about a particular ethical issue or situation, you may contact our office at 614-387-9700 (Press option 1) and an Assistant Disciplinary Counsel will respond to your inquiry. If you are a judicial officer and have a question about a particular ethical situation or issue, you may contact our office at 614-387-9730 and the Disciplinary Counsel or the Chief Assistant will respond to your inquiry.

You may request a letter verifying your disciplinary history by contacting our office directly.