California Attorney Complaint – Fill Out and Use This PDF

THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA

Instructions for Filing a Complaint Against a California Attorney

Fill out all spaces on the California Attorney Complaint Form completely. Provide your name, address, zip code and telephone numbers (work and home).

Please mail, do not fax, your complaint form to the Office of the Chief Trial Counsel/Intake, State Bar of California, 1149 South Hill Street, Los Angeles, California 90015-2299.

Be sure to give the full and complete name of the attorney you are complaining about. Also, provide his address and telephone number. If you wish to complain about more than one attorney, use a separate form for each attorney. If any of the blank spaces do not apply to your case, write N/A (Not Applicable). Be sure to date and sign the form.

Please note #7 on the form and answer if known. If you do not know, state “Unknown.”

On a separate sheet of paper, tell us about your complaint against the attorney. We also need to know the background of your case:

·What type of case is it?

·When did you hire the attorney?

·How did you choose the attorney?

·When did you meet the attorney?

·What was your agreement?

·Was the agreement verbal or in writing?

·Other pertinent information?

·Tell us in your own words what has happened so far in this case.

Some Things You Should Know

The Office of the Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) reviews complaints of unethical conduct by attorneys licensed to practice in California. Should OCTC prosecute allegations contained in your complaint, you may be required to testify before the State Bar Court in order to prove charges against the attorney(s) involved. Below is a list of what the State Bar can and cannot do when it considers a complaint against an attorney:

·The State Bar can discipline or recommend that an attorney be disciplined only for a violation of the State Bar Act or the Rules of Professional Conduct.

·The State Bar cannot advise or otherwise help you in any matters connected with

your complaint or in any other dispute in which you may be involved. For example, it cannot decide whether an attorney’s particular fee is reasonable. Attorney fees are not reimbursable simply because you are dissatisfied with the services of your attorney or because the work was not completed. Some local

Bar Associations have a Fee Arbitration Committee. The State Bar’s Fee Arbitration program is available should your local bar association not provide fee arbitration. Attorneys are required to participate in fee arbitration initiated by their clients, and fee arbitration is an informal, confidential and lower cost forum for resolving fee disputes between lawyers and their clients.

·The State Bar cannot give you the name of a particular attorney to help you. If

you do not have an attorney and wish to hire one, contact a Lawyer Referral Service in your area. The State Bar pamphlet “How Can I Find & Hire the Right Lawyer” is available on the State Bar’s Web site, www.calbar.ca.gov (go to

Consumer Pamphlets).

·The law limits the authority of the State Bar. It cannot act as your lawyer. For example, it cannot give you legal advice, or perform any other legal services for you (such as pursuing damages or other legal action against the attorney(s) involved in your complaint). You may have legal remedies available to you but the State Bar cannot advise you what your rights are in a given situation or what you should do. The State Bar is not a court that can provide civil remedies to you.

·If the State Bar files charges in the State Bar Court and obtains an order of discipline, additional remedies such as restitution also may be ordered. In addition, the State Bar has a Client Security Fund (CSF), which reimburses specific monetary loss. Reimbursement covers the loss of money or property resulting from lawyer dishonesty (but not simply because the lawyer acted incompetently, committed malpractice or failed to take certain actions). To qualify for CSF reimbursement, you must be able to show that the money or property actually came into the lawyer's possession and that the loss was caused by the lawyer's dishonest conduct. For example, the types of dishonest conduct that may lead to reimbursement from CSF are theft or embezzlement, failure to refund advanced attorney fees where the lawyer performed no services, the borrowing of money from a client without intention to repay the money, obtaining money or property from a client by representing that it would be used for investment purposes when no investment is made, and an act of intentional

dishonesty or deceit that directly leads to the loss of money or property that actually came into the lawyer’s possession. CSF cannot process applications for reimbursement until final discipline has been ordered against the attorney by the California Supreme Court.

THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY COMPLAINT FORM

Read instructions before filling in this form.

Date:

(1)Your contact information: Your name:

Your address:

Your city, state & zip code: Your email address:

(2)Attorney’s contact information: Please provide the name, address and telephone

number of the attorney(s) you are complaining about. (NOTE: If you are complaining about more than one attorney, include the information requested in items #2 through #7 for each attorney. Use separate sheets if necessary.

Attorney’s name:

Attorney’s address:

Attorney’s city, state & zip code:

Attorney’s telephone number:

(3)Have you or a member of your family complained about this attorney(s) previously?

If “Yes”, please state to whom the previous complaint was made, approximate date of complaint and disposition.

If “Yes,” give the approximate date you employed the attorney(s) and the amount, if any, paid to the attorney(s).

If “No,” what is your connection with the attorney(s)? Explain briefly.