The Grievance Process
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Introduction
The professional conduct of every lawyer
practicing law in the State of Maine is governed
by the Code of Professional Responsibility
(Code) within the Maine Bar Rules as promulgated
by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The Board
of Overseers of the Bar was created by the Court
in 1978. The Board consists of six lawyers and
three lay members (non-lawyer members of the
public). The Board appoints members to three
commissions established by the Bar Rules: the
Fee Arbitration Commission, the Grievance
Commission, and the Professional Ethics
Commission. All members of the Board and its
commissions serve as volunteers.
The Grievance Commission
The Grievance Commission consists of five
geographically distributed panels each composed
of two lawyers and one lay member. Bar Counsel
(attorneys employed at the Board of Overseers of
the Bar) investigate and, when directed by the
Grievance Commission, prosecute complaints
alleging misconduct.
What to Expect When Filing A Complaint
• Your complaint will be reviewed and promptly
acknowledged by Bar Counsel.
• If Bar Counsel conclude the conduct alleged in
the complaint could, if proven true, violate the
Code, the complaint will be investigated and
then reviewed by a panel of the Grievance
Commission. This initial phase of the
disciplinary process usually takes 90 to 120
days. However, the complexity of the case, the
length of the investigation, and other legal
proceedings may delay disposition of a grievance
complaint for many months.
• If a review panel finds probable cause of a
lawyer’s violation of the Code, another panel
will hold a hearing with testimony and other
evidence and make a decision about whether the
lawyer did violate the Code. Disciplinary action
may be imposed on a lawyer found by a hearing
panel to have violated the Code.
• You may be asked to provide Bar Counsel with
information in addition to that in your original
complaint. If the matter proceeds to hearing,
you may be called as a witness.
• You will be kept informed of the progress of
the investigation and notified of the ultimate
disposition of the complaint.
• As a result of filing a grievance complaint
against your lawyer on a current matter, your
lawyer will most likely withdraw from further
representation of you.
What NOT to Expect When Filing A Complaint
• By investigating and/or prosecuting your
complaint, Bar Counsel will not provide you with
legal advice or legal services. Therefore, to
determine if you have a civil claim or other
remedy available, you should consider discussing
it with your own private legal counsel.
• The grievance procedure will not result
in your recovery of any money. If you have a fee
dispute with your lawyer, you may file a
Petition for Fee Arbitration with the Board of
Overseers of the Bar.
• The grievance process will not affect or alter
the outcome of private legal matters which have
occurred and have come to judgment. It is not an
appeal process, nor will it result in a new
trial.
• The grievance process does not directly affect
or take priority over any related court action.
If you have sued your attorney, that action
should be expected to stay on course. You should
not await completion of the grievance process.
The Complaint
The grievance process starts with a written
complaint made by a client, another lawyer, a
judge, or a third party. The person making the
complaint is the complainant. The lawyer
involved is the respondent. A
complaint must be in writing and signed by the
complainant and may be submitted on a form
obtained from the office of the Board of
Overseers or at our web site at
www.mebaroverseers.org. Complaints sent
by email will not be accepted. If you are the
complainant, you should provide a concise but
detailed written summary of the nature of the
complaint on the form provided. The complaint
should be legibly printed or typewritten. Please
include any documents you believe are relevant
to your complaint. Bar Counsel may ask you to
provide additional information. You should know
that the Maine Bar Rules require that all the
information you provide to Bar Counsel and the
Board of Overseers must be shared with the
respondent so that the respondent has an
opportunity to answer the allegations. You
should be aware that the grievance complaint
process deals only with ethical violations by
lawyers. Not all complaints about a lawyer
involve violations of the Code. When you are
informed of the disposition of your complaint,
you will be informed whether or not your
complaint does involve a violation of the Code.
If it does not and you still wish to pursue it,
you will have to obtain independent advice about
the best method and/or forum to do that.
Complaints about fees charged by your lawyer
should be directed to the Fee Arbitration
Commission at the office of the Board of
Overseers of the Bar.
The Investigation
Bar Counsel review each signed and completed
complaint to determine whether the conduct
alleged, if proven true, could be a violation of
the Code. If the complaint does not allege
conduct that would violate the Code, Bar Counsel
will issue a letter of dismissal to the
complainant stating a brief reason for that
dismissal. A copy of the letter of dismissal
will be sent to the respondent. If such a
dismissal occurs, the complainant has the right
to request that Bar Counsel’s dismissal be
reviewed. Reviews should be requested within 14
days of the notification of the dismissal.
Reviews are done by a lay member of either the
Board or the Grievance Commission. If the lay
member approves the dismissal, the complainant
and respondent will be informed, and the matter
remains dismissed. If the lay member determines
that the conduct alleged, if proven true, could
be a violation of the Code, the complaint will
be returned to Bar Counsel for further
investigation, and the complainant and the
respondent will be notified. Bar Counsel will
investigate all complaints that allege conduct
that, if proven true, could be a violation of
the Code. Bar Counsel will send the respondent a
copy of the complaint. The respondent must
respond in writing to Bar Counsel. Bar Counsel
may send a copy of the respondent’s answer to
the complainant to allow for additional written
comment or documentation from the complainant.
Bar Counsel will submit any additional material
from the complainant to the respondent for
review.
The Review Panel
Once an investigation is complete, Bar Counsel
will present the complaint, response, and other
relevant information to a panel of the Grievance
Commission that will act as a Review Panel. Bar
Counsel will recommend to the Review Panel that
the complaint be either: dismissed, dismissed
with a warning, or referred for a hearing.
Neither the complainant nor the respondent is
present or participates at this review. Although
the Review Panel is provided with Bar Counsel’s
recommendation, the panel makes an independent
decision after evaluating the complaint. Bar
Counsel then notifies the complainant and
respondent in writing of the Review Panel’s
decision. If the decision is to dismiss or to
dismiss with a warning to the respondent, the
letter will briefly state the reasons for such
action. If the decision is to refer the
complaint for a hearing, that hearing will be
open to the public. The Review Panel’s choices
are described as follows:
• dismissal: no violation of the Code occurred;
• dismissal with warning: a minor violation of
the Code occurred with little or no injury to
the client, the public, the legal system, or the
legal profession, and there is little likelihood
of repetition by the respondent;
• referral for hearing: there was probable cause
that the Code was violated and a disciplinary
hearing open to the public should take place to
determine if there was a violation.
Confidentiality
Up to this point in the processing of a
grievance complaint, all information about it is
required to be kept confidential by the Board,
the Grievance Commission, and Bar Counsel. In
cases where a disciplinary petition is filed and
a hearing held, as described below, the
petition, answer, and the hearing will be open
to the public.
Disciplinary Hearing and Decision
If the Review Panel refers the case to a
disciplinary hearing open to the public, Bar
Counsel will prepare and file a document called
a petition. The petitioner will be the Board of
Overseers, not the complainant. The petition
sets forth the facts of the case, alleges
specific violation(s) of the Code, and asks for
an appropriate disposition. The petition is
served on the respondent. The case is then
assigned to a Hearing Panel (different from the
Review Panel) of the Grievance Commission to
hear evidence. The complainant and the
respondent will be notified in advance of the
date of the hearing. The complainant and
respondent should be prepared to testify under
oath at the hearing. Witnesses may be subpoenaed
or legally compelled to appear and testify at
the hearing. Disciplinary hearings are conducted
in a manner very similar to a civil trial. All
witnesses are sworn. Bar Counsel presents the
Board’s case to a Hearing Panel with the
respondent having the right to cross-examine all
of the Board’s witnesses. The respondent then
presents his or her case to the panel, and Bar
Counsel cross-examines the respondent’s
witnesses. After all the evidence is received by
the panel, the public part of the hearing is
concluded and the panel confidentially
deliberates. Typically, the panel will issue a
written decision two to four weeks after the
hearing. Bar Counsel will then promptly notify
the complainant and respondent of the Hearing
Panel’s decision. These decisions are available
to the public upon request and, if discipline is
imposed, will be published by the Board on its
web site upon becoming final. The Hearing Panel
will make one of the following dispositions:
• Dismissal because no violation of the Code
occurred;
• Dismissal with a warning because a minor
violation of the Code occurred which appears not
likely to be repeated by the attorney;
• Public reprimand because a violation of the
Code occurred that was not minor;
• Finding of probable cause for the attorney’s
suspension or disbarment from practice because a
violation of the Code occurred that was serious;
it may not be adequately sanctioned by a
reprimand and therefore should be presented in a
new hearing before a justice of the Maine
Supreme Judicial Court.
Legal Services and Advice
The Board of Overseers of the Bar, Bar Counsel,
and the Grievance Commission cannot provide
legal services or advice. Bar Counsel represents
the Board of Overseers, not the complainant or
respondent.
Revised July 2007
Cost
All services and expenses of the Board of
Overseers and Grievance Commission are provided
without any financial cost to complainants.
Immunity
In the absence of malice, a complainant is
immune from civil liability based on the filing
of a grievance complaint.
For additional information, please visit our web
site, write or call:
Board of Overseers of the Bar
97 Winthrop Street
P.O. Box 527
Augusta, ME 04332-0527
T. 207-623-1121
F. 207-623-4175
Web site:
www.mebaroverseers.org
Email: board@mebaroverseers.org
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