When the State Bar of Georgia dismissed my grievance and I wrote back with
proof, the Bar converted my correspondence into a Request for Reconsideration. I asked four times
what that process was, what the reviewer would be reviewing, and what rules governed it. Nobody ever
told me. On June 30, 2026 it was denied.
The disclaimer. I am not a lawyer. This page records what I was told, what I was
not told, and what the Bar publishes.
What I was told reconsideration is
On April 21, 2026, Assistant General Counsel Leigh Burgess described it this way. Because the
grievance had already been dismissed, my recent correspondence would be treated as a Request for
Reconsideration of Dismissal. The process allows a dismissed matter to be reviewed again to determine
whether sufficient evidence exists of a violation of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.
I was told the file was now considered complete, that it included the grievance, the attorney’s
response, my rebuttal materials, and the request for reconsideration, and that under Office of the
General Counsel procedures the matter would be assigned to a different attorney for a full and
independent review. I would be notified in writing once a determination was made.
What I could not find published
The State Bar publishes its four-stage disciplinary process on its own site: screening, State
Disciplinary Board investigation, prosecution before a special master, and the Supreme Court of
Georgia. That process is set out here.
What I have not been able to find published anywhere is the reconsideration procedure itself. Not
the standard applied. Not the timeline. Not what happens to a dismissal that the Bar has admitted was
based on an incomplete file.
So I asked. In writing. These are the questions and the dates.
- What is the current status of the grievance? First asked May 7, 2026. Never answered.
- Does the April 10 dismissal still stand? First asked May 7, 2026. Never answered.
- If the dismissal still stands, what is the reconsideration reviewer actually reviewing? First
asked May 11, 2026. Never answered. - If the dismissal is being reconsidered, how will it be decided, and what are the rules for that
review? First asked May 7, 2026. Never answered. - Will the Bar correct the April 10 dismissal record to state it issued before the February 3 and
February 20 submissions were in the file? First asked May 7, 2026. Never answered.
All fifteen unanswered questions
Why the third question is the whole problem
Read it again. What is the reconsideration reviewer actually reviewing?
If the reviewer is reviewing the original dismissal, then the reviewer is reviewing a decision the
Bar has admitted was made on an incomplete file, and the honest answer is that the dismissal should
be vacated rather than reconsidered.
If the reviewer is reviewing the now-complete file for the first time, then it is not a
reconsideration at all. It is the first real review, and the April 10 letter should be withdrawn
rather than left standing.
Those are different things with different consequences, and a person cannot participate
meaningfully without knowing which one is happening. That is not a technicality. It determines what
you would write, what you would attach, and whether you would need to say anything at all.
What happened
On June 30, 2026 the answers arrived, all of them, in one day.
- The reconsideration of the original grievance: denied, with the April 10 no-rebuttal statement
still uncorrected. - The grievance concerning the former Board of Governors member: dismissed, with the respondent
copied on his own clearance. - The grievances against the Deputy General Counsel who signed the dismissal, the Deputy General
Counsel who wrote the denial, and the ADA contact: dismissed.
Six months. Fifteen written questions. Seven matters. Six closed in a single day of dismissal
letters. The seventh, my June 8 complaint to Human Resources, has no answer as of September 5, 2026.
Questions answered: zero.
Where it stands .
Read the June 30 dispositions
The sentence that was never written
There was one sentence available to the Bar at any point in those six months, and it would have
ended this:
The dismissal was based on a file the Bar admits was incomplete, and the record has been
corrected.
It was never written. Not in April, when the misclassification was admitted. Not in May, when I
asked six times. Not on June 30, when everything closed.
If you are in a reconsideration now
Offered as experience, not advice.
- Ask what is being reviewed, in writing, before you write anything else. Original
decision, or complete file. The answer changes your entire submission. - Ask for the standard and the timeline. If neither is published, ask where it is
published. An unpublished standard is not reviewable by anyone, including you. - Ask separately for correction of the original document. Reconsideration and
correction are different requests. Institutions will answer the one they prefer if you bundle
them. - Note the date you first asked each question. “First asked May 7, never answered”
is a stronger record than asking three times and remembering none of the dates. - Use the free outside routes in parallel.
They are here, and they do not require the institution to finish
first.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Request for Reconsideration of Dismissal?
It allows a dismissed matter to be reviewed again to determine whether sufficient evidence exists of a violation of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct. In this matter the complainant’s correspondence challenging the dismissal was converted into one.
What is the reconsideration reviewer actually reviewing?
That question was first asked on May 11, 2026 and was never answered. It matters because reviewing the original dismissal and reviewing the now-complete file for the first time are different things with different consequences.
How long does reconsideration take?
No timeline is published. In this matter the request was made in April 2026 and denied on June 30, 2026, in a day on which six of seven open matters were closed.
Is the standard for reconsideration published?
Not that could be found. The Bar publishes its four stage disciplinary process. The reconsideration standard, timeline, and scope were asked about in writing four times and never provided.
Corrections: this page is built from documents I received and from the Bar’s
published materials. If any fact here is incomplete or inaccurate, identify the page, the sentence,
and the supporting document, and I will review and correct the record.
I have invited the State Bar of Georgia to identify any inaccuracy on this
page. As of the date above, it has identified none.