Grievance and Ethics Information

WHAT’S NEW IN THE ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE PROCESS

Complainants are required to use the State Bar’s current grievance form, effective September 1, 2023, to report attorney misconduct. A grievance can be submitted electronically at https://sbotservices.texasbar.com/, or the current grievance form can be downloaded from there. All questions on the grievance form must be answered completely. If a question doesn’t apply to your situation, you must state “not applicable” or “N/A.” If you don’t know the answer to a question, state that you don’t know. Do not leave any section blank. Old versions of grievance forms, or grievance forms that are not complete with required information, will be automatically rejected and returned.

The State Bar of Texas is dedicated to improving and advancing the quality of legal services to the public, protecting the public through the discipline system, and fostering integrity and ethical conduct in the legal profession.

The Texas attorney discipline system is governed by the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure. The ethics rules define proper conduct for purposes of professional discipline. The procedural rules provide the mechanism by which grievances are processed, investigated, and prosecuted.

Also, the Supreme Court of Texas created an ombudsman to be an independent source of information for the public and a monitor of the attorney discipline system. Learn more about the ombudsman here.