The good, the bad, and the unethical: the Bar's procedure for investigating and prosecuting disciplinary complaints.

There are a number of things that can get a lawyer in hot water with The Florida Bar's Lawyer Regulation Department. While any violation of the rules of professional conduct could warrant a disciplinary complaint, some of the more common transgressions investigated by The Florida Bar include:

* Theft of client funds,

* Misrepresentation and other dishonest conduct,

* Failure to comply with trust accounting rules,

* Commission of a crime (in particular a felony),

* Failure to communicate with clients,

* Lack of diligence/competence,

* Conflicts of interest,

* Improper transactions with clients (for example, naming the lawyer as a beneficiary in a client's will),

* Charging excessive fees,

* Unprofessional conduct with opposing counsel and disrespect to the judiciary.

Lately, there has been a strong push from lawyers, judges, Florida Bar leaders, and the Florida Supreme Court to take a more aggressive stance against professionalism-related complaints. If trends continue, I would expect to see the prosecution of these types of complaints to increase in the upcoming years.

Stage 1: Complaint Intake & Preliminary Investigation

The process starts when the Bar receives a complaint against a lawyer. Clients, opposing counsel, or judges may file complaints, or the Bar may discover potential misconduct through other means, such as media reports or notice of a bounced check from a lawyer's bank.

Not all of the thousands of inquiries and complaints the Bar receives each year are prosecuted. After a complaint is submitted to the Bar, but before charges are filed, intake counsel conducts a preliminary investigation. If intake counsel determines that the allegations do not warrant discipline, then the case is closed immediately without further action against the attorney. However, if intake counsel determines that the facts alleged would constitute a violation warranting discipline, then counsel opens a file, notifies the accused attorney, and requests a response within 15 days. Over the past five years, an average of nearly 7,600 cases each year make it to this stage.

After receiving the lawyer's response, intake counsel can close the file if the facts do not support going forward. However, if further investigation is warranted or if the lawyer fails to respond, then intake counsel will forward the case to the Bar's branch office covering the judicial circuit where the lawyer practices. The Florida Bar has branch offices in Tallahassee, Tampa, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami.

Stage 2: Branch Investigation

Once the branch receives the case, it is assigned to Bar counsel who will conduct a factual analysis of the case. Bar counsel will close the case if disciplinary measures are not warranted. For relatively minor...