Georgia Bar Had My 2 Answers. Its Dismissal Said It Had None.

The Story · State Bar of Georgia

I sent the State Bar of Georgia my written answer twice, on February 3 and February 20, 2026. On April 10, 2026, the State Bar of Georgia dismissed my complaint in a letter that said it had not received a rebuttal. Eleven days later its own lawyer, Leigh Burgess, confirmed in writing that both answers had arrived. Proof of Leigh Burgess confirming the State Bar of Georgia received both answers

By the numbers, as of April 21, 2026

What the State Bar of Georgia’s own emails and letters show	Count
Times the State Bar of Georgia invited my answer (February 3, 2026)	1
Answers I sent, on time	2
Answers the State Bar of Georgia confirmed it received	2
Answers in my file when it dismissed my complaint on April 10	0
Days my first answer sat at the State Bar of Georgia before that dismissal	66
Days from the dismissal to the written admission	11
Times I asked in writing, April 20 to May 14, 2026, for the dismissal to be corrected	5
Corrections, as of October 22, 2026	0

The letter that dismissed my complaint went out April 10. That sentence went out April 21. Same office. On April 10 my two answers were already in the building. The letter said none came.

What happened, date by date

• January 23, 2026. I file a grievance with the State Bar of Georgia about a lawyer.
• January 28, 2026. The State Bar of Georgia sends my grievance to that lawyer and copies me.
• February 3, 2026, 3:42 PM. The State Bar of Georgia sends me the lawyer’s answer and writes: “At this time I invite you to rebut the response and add any additional facts to the file that you believe may be relevant.” (signed “Grievance Counsel”)
• February 3, 2026, that evening. I send my first answer to the State Bar of Georgia’s response mailbox. Its system writes back within minutes: “Your email has been delivered.”
• February 20, 2026, the deadline it gave me. I send my second answer the same way. Same automatic receipt.
• April 10, 2026. The State Bar of Georgia dismisses my grievance in a letter signed by Andreea N. Morrison, Deputy General Counsel. The letter says: “we did not receive a rebuttal”. Proof of the April 10, 2026 dismissal
• April 20, 2026. I write and ask where my two answers went.
• April 21, 2026. Leigh Burgess, Assistant General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, answers. She confirms both emails arrived. She gives the reason: “because your messages were labeled as a “Supplemental Submission in Support of Grievance,” they were not processed as rebuttals and were instead treated as unsolicited submissions.” Then: “As a result of this misclassification, your submissions were not added to the grievance file at that time. Accordingly, when Ms. Morrison reviewed the file, no rebuttal was present.” Five paragraphs later: “I apologize for the oversight and appreciate your patience.” Leigh Burgess’s April 21, 2026 email
• April 20 to May 14, 2026. I ask the State Bar of Georgia in writing, five times, to correct the April 10 letter.
• May 12, 2026. William D. NeSmith III, Deputy General Counsel, writes that “all of your submissions are now included in the grievance file.”
• June 30, 2026. The State Bar of Georgia affirms the April 10 dismissal.

Read the text transcript

From: Leigh Burgess
To: [my name removed]
Cc: Leigh Burgess
Sent: April 21, 2026, 11:53 AM ET
Subject: FW: [External] Grievance No. [number removed] — Correction of April 10 Dismissal and Request for Recusal
4 files attached.

Mr. [my name removed],

Ms. Morrison forwarded your email to me for direct response. I supervise the staff responsible for monitoring the Response@gabar.org mailbox.

You are correct that we received emails from you on February 3, 2026, and February 20, 2026. However, because your messages were labeled as a “Supplemental Submission in Support of Grievance,” they were not processed as rebuttals and were instead treated as unsolicited submissions. As noted in the automatic reply from the response mailbox, our office is unable to process unsolicited supplemental materials after a grievance has been submitted and can only accept responses from attorneys or rebuttals from complainants. The notice also advises that responses and rebuttals should be submitted in a single, complete email rather than in multiple messages.

As a result of this misclassification, your submissions were not added to the grievance file at that time. Accordingly, when Ms. Morrison reviewed the file, no rebuttal was present. I have taken steps to address this issue to help ensure it does not occur in the future.

Your previously submitted materials, referred to in your correspondence as “supplemental evidentiary briefs,” have now been added to the file. Because the grievance has already been dismissed, your recent email to Ms. Morrison will be treated as a Request for Reconsideration of Dismissal. This process allows for a dismissed matter to be reviewed again to determine whether sufficient evidence exists of a violation of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.

At this stage, the file is considered complete. It now includes your grievance, the attorney’s response, your rebuttal materials, and your request for reconsideration. In accordance with Office of the General Counsel procedures, the matter will be assigned to a different attorney for a full and independent review. You will be notified in writing once a determination has been made. If additional information is needed, we will contact you.

In your correspondence to Ms. Morrison, you also stated that your letter serves as a request for disability-related accommodation. Grievance Counsel reviews and manages such requests as part of the grievance process, coordinating with Bar Counsel as appropriate to ensure accessibility and compliance. At this time, your participation is not required, as the file is complete. Should further input from you become necessary, you will receive instructions at that time, along with the opportunity to submit any accommodation requests.

I apologize for the oversight and appreciate your patience. To reiterate, your file is now complete and will be reviewed in light of your timely submissions as part of the reconsideration process.

Sincerely,

Leigh Burgess

LEIGH BURGESS //
Assistant General Counsel

104 Marietta St. NW, Suite 100 | Atlanta, GA 30303

T: 404-526-8633 | F: 404-527-8744 | leighb@gabar.org

Typed from the native message. Names, my contact details and file numbers are removed and marked in brackets. Nothing else is changed.

What I allege

1. I allege the State Bar of Georgia invited my answer on February 3, 2026, received it that night, received it again on February 20, and decided my complaint on April 10 with neither copy in the file. Leigh Burgess’s April 21, 2026 email says all of that in her own words.

2. I allege the April 10, 2026 dismissal letter told me the State Bar of Georgia had not received a rebuttal when the State Bar of Georgia had received two. The letter says “we did not receive a rebuttal.” The April 21 email says “You are correct that we received emails from you on February 3, 2026, and February 20, 2026.” I did not write either sentence. The State Bar of Georgia wrote both.

3. I allege that nothing in the record shows anyone at the State Bar of Georgia caught it before I did. The admission came one day after I asked and eleven days after the dismissal. If I had trusted the letter, my two answers would still be sitting in the wrong pile and nobody at the State Bar of Georgia would have said a word.

4. I allege the State Bar of Georgia has never withdrawn or corrected the April 10 letter. I asked five times in writing between April 20 and May 14, 2026. Corrections: zero. On June 30, 2026 it affirmed the dismissal instead. The decision built on the missing file is still the decision.

5. The State Bar of Georgia’s word for what happened to my two answers is “misclassification.” Leigh Burgess wrote it on April 21, 2026. Not lost. Not misplaced. Not “we got it wrong.” A “misclassification.” Here is what it means in plain words: my answers were inside the State Bar of Georgia and not in front of the one lawyer who decided my case. The State Bar of Georgia did not say lost. It did not say misplaced. It did not say we were wrong. It apologized for “the oversight,” which is a word for the thing you did not do, not the thing you did. The softer word does not make the result smaller.

5a. April 21, 2026 was the beginning of the State Bar of Georgia’s failure to take ownership of its mistakes. First the word. Then the letter it would not correct. Then the June 30 decision that affirmed the uncorrected letter. Three documents. Zero corrections. It was the first day the State Bar of Georgia declined to own a mistake in plain words. It was not the last.

6. “I apologize for the oversight” closed the matter for the State Bar of Georgia. It did not close it for me. I said the obvious thing the same day: “A forward is not a correction.” An apology for the error, and no fix to the decision that rests on the error, is not a correction. It is a receipt for the error.

7. A complaint system that asks for your answer, receives it, and then decides without it has a problem bigger than my file. I had to run a second paper trail to prove the first one existed. The State Bar of Georgia controls the mailbox, the file and the decision. I control none of it, and I am the one who found the mistake.

Is this how they would treat their own family or friends that were disabled

What it cost me

“I am the one paying for the Bar’s mistakes, non-answers, missed updates, and failure to provide basic ADA access measures… the decision to leave me managing fourteen separate email addresses just to follow a process the Bar controls.”

That is from my own email to the State Bar of Georgia. Filing a complaint had acquired a second job: checking the complaint system’s filing. That is why I later asked for a way to take part that I could rely on. That request, and what the State Bar of Georgia said about my reasons for making it, is the next chapter: Georgia Bar’s William D. NeSmith III Said My ADA Request Seemed Aimed at Winning.

Questions and answers

What is a rebuttal? Your written answer to what the lawyer you complained about says in reply. The State Bar of Georgia invited mine on February 3, 2026. I sent it that day and again on February 20, 2026.

Did the State Bar of Georgia ever fix the April 10, 2026 letter? No. As of October 22, 2026 it has not been withdrawn or corrected. On June 30, 2026 the State Bar of Georgia affirmed the dismissal.

Did the State Bar of Georgia admit the mistake? Yes, in writing, on April 21, 2026. Leigh Burgess confirmed both emails arrived, called the problem a misclassification, said my answers had now been added, and apologized for the oversight. She did not withdraw the dismissal.

Read the documents

I am not asking you to take my word for any of it. I am asking you to read theirs.

Proof of the April 10, 2026 dismissal · Proof of Leigh Burgess’s April 21, 2026 admission · Leigh Burgess’s April 21, 2026 email, every word · The Receipts · State Bar of Georgia official staff directory

Corrections

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