Seven Georgia offices. One disabled dad. Here is what each office wrote when I asked for ADA help.
I asked the State Bar of Georgia, the City of Brookhaven and its police department, GIRMA, GMA, Gallagher Bassett, Georgia POST and the Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s office for disability access in 2026.
Before that, I asked each office to fix its own mistake.
The State Bar of Georgia left my two written answers out of my grievance file. The City of Brookhaven would not take a five minute call about a customer service issue. Gallagher Bassett gave my one claim eight claim numbers.
I asked each office to fix its mistake first.
The dates below show when I first asked each office for ADA help.
This page is what came back, in each official’s own words, with the date, the sender and the source document for every line.
State Bar of Georgia
What went wrong first
The State Bar of Georgia received my two written answers in a grievance I filed, on February 3 and February 20, 2026.
Its April 10, 2026 dismissal letter said no rebuttal was received.
On April 21, Leigh Burgess wrote that because of a misclassification the submissions "were not added to the grievance file at that time."
What I asked them to fix
On April 20, 2026, I asked the State Bar of Georgia to correct the dismissal and the file record.
When ADA entered the story
In that same April 20 letter, I asked for disability access. On April 21, 2026, at 6:43 PM, I followed with a formal ADA accommodation demand.
What came back
"The State Bar of Georgia is not a public entity, such as a federal, state or local government department or agency."
People on this correspondence
| From | William D. NeSmith III, Deputy General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia (sender and signer) |
| To | Me, a private recipient |
| Cc | None on the email as sent |
A Cc line shows who was copied. It does not show who read it. A read receipt does not show agreement.
"To be clear, the State Bar’s position remains that it is not subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act."
"therefore we are not required to have a published ADA Coordinator."
"the State Bar of Georgia will not engage in further substantive correspondence with you concerning your threatened claims"
"I am the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator, and you may continue to send your accommodation requests to me."
"I am closing this matter, as you have made no request that can properly be classified as a request for an accommodation."
October 21, 2026: the General Counsel
Russell D. Willard is General Counsel of the State Bar of Georgia. Between April 20 and October 7, 2026, I offered proof of my disability in 27 emails to the State Bar of Georgia. No one there asked for it. On October 21, 2026, he wrote:
"Every accommodation request that you made to the Office of the General Counsel pursuant to your claim of being disabled which could even arguably be considered as a request for an accommodation from the State Bar to enable you to participate in its services due to your asserted disability was granted by the designated ADA Coordinator, Senior Assistant General Counsel John Shiptenko."
"You have conflated and erroneously characterized, however, informational demands and other litigation-related threats as requests for accommodations."
"All these grievances have been dismissed, are concluded, and will not be re-opened or further considered by the Office of the General Counsel or the State Disciplinary Board."
"Should you wish to pursue this matter in court or through a relevant administrative proceeding, the State Bar will respond appropriately to any allegations that you raise therein and seek any remedies that we are entitled to seek."
"However, until such time, nothing further is pending with the State Bar related to your grievances, and you should not expect to hear directly from any State Bar-affiliated personnel regarding anything arising from these seven dismissed grievances or their appropriate disposition."
27 offers of proof. 0 requests for it. Then: “your asserted disability.” If the State Bar of Georgia doubted my disability, it should have asked for the proof. Every sentence quoted here is word for word from the email.
I sent the State Bar of Georgia my first written answer in my grievance on February 3, 2026. I first wrote to Russell D. Willard on April 20, 2026. From then on, his address was on 47 of the 67 emails I sent the State Bar of Georgia. On April 20, 2026, I also sent him my request for reconsideration, addressed to him by name, by UPS overnight, signature required. He did not write back. Not once.
His first email to me came on October 21, 2026. 260 days after February 3. Eight months.
When he finally wrote, he went after my son, he went after me, and he called my disability “asserted.” I will not repeat what he wrote about my son. My son is not part of this site, and he never will be.
Eight months of silence. Then that. All it did was add one more document to the record that others are already reading: the State of Georgia ADA Coordinator’s Office, copied since April 30, 2026, and the U.S. Department of Justice, where I mailed my federal ADA complaint on May 19, 2026.
Read the full account, and the decision now in front of the Board of Governors →
People on this correspondence: 24 copied
| From | Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia (sender and signer) |
| To | Me, a private recipient |
| Cc, officers | William C. “Bill” Gentry, President; R. Javoyne Hicks, President Elect; Shiriki Cavitt Jones, Treasurer; Norbert D. “Bert” Hummel IV, Secretary; Christopher P. Twyman, Immediate Past President; Virginia C. Josey, President, Young Lawyers Division; Kindall E. Browning-Rickle, President Elect, Young Lawyers Division; Veronica Rogusky Cox, Immediate Past President, Young Lawyers Division |
| Cc, Executive Committee | Board of Governors members on the Executive Committee: Thua G. Barlay; Joyce Gist Lewis; David S. Lipscomb; John R. B. “Jack” Long; R. Gary Spencer; Martin E. Valbuena |
| Cc, State Disciplinary Board | Jeffrey W. DeLoach, who signed the four June 30, 2026 letters as Chair, State Disciplinary Board |
| Cc, staff | Damon E. Elmore, Executive Director; Sarah I. Coole, Chief Operating Officer; William D. NeSmith III, Deputy General Counsel; John J. Shiptenko, Senior Assistant General Counsel; Kathy S. Jackson, Clerk, State Disciplinary Boards; Sandra Dixon, Director, Human Resources; the State Bar of Georgia ADA Coordinator mailbox |
| Cc, State of Georgia | Stacey Peace, State ADA Coordinator, and the State of Georgia ADA Coordinator’s Office mailbox |
A Cc line shows who was copied. It does not show who read it. A read receipt does not show agreement.
Read my commentary
City of Brookhaven and Brookhaven Police Department
What went wrong first
I asked the City of Brookhaven for a five minute call to discuss a customer service issue. No one would speak to me about it. So I filed 2 complaints. What else could I do? I would have left a Google review and moved on. I couldn’t find one. Then I asked for records.
One City of Brookhaven estimate for records reached $49,385.
On March 9, 2026, twenty requests were marked complete in five minutes thirty eight seconds.
Jeremy T. Berry, the City Attorney, asked about my lawyer three times, from January 23 to February 9, 2026.
What I asked them to fix
I asked the City of Brookhaven for the route a disabled resident is supposed to use, and for an accommodation on the records fees.
When ADA entered the story
On February 24, 2026, I wrote to the City Manager: “This is a Title II accommodation request.” On February 26, after I filed an ADA grievance with the City, he replied:
What came back
"Please direct ADA grievances to Linda Warren."
People on this correspondence
| From | Christian Sigman, City Manager, City of Brookhaven (sender) |
| To | Me, a private recipient |
| Cc | Linda Warren, City of Brookhaven; Jeremy T. Berry, City Attorney |
A Cc line shows who was copied. It does not show who read it. A read receipt does not show agreement.
"because others making an ORA request must pay a statutory portion of the expense, a disabled person must do the same."
The dated lawyer questions
| Date | Who asked | Exact words | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 23, 2026, 12:40 PM | Jeremy T. Berry, City Attorney | “If you are represented by counsel, please have that person contact me.” | Email to me |
| January 23, 2026, 12:59 PM | Jeremy T. Berry, City Attorney | “Under legal ethics, if you are represented by counsel, I cannot respond further.” | Email to me |
| February 9, 2026, 2:27 PM | Jeremy T. Berry, City Attorney | “…please let us know who that person is so that we can communicate with that person.” | Email to me |
Read my commentary
GIRMA, GMA, and Gallagher Bassett
What went wrong first
My one claim got eight claim numbers.
Seven were opened automatically from emails I sent to Gallagher Bassett’s claims intake address.
On March 13, Belinda Boscoe wrote that the extra numbers "were mistakenly set up as new claims."
What I asked them to fix
I wanted to know how many claims I actually had.
I asked for a phone call.
I asked for the person who handled ADA accommodation requests for claim communications.
When ADA entered the story
March 13, 2026, at 11:07 AM.
What came back
"Contrary to your contention, GIRMA is not required to designate an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator."
"What is your disability?"
"You have presented dozens of emails to Ms. Boscoe and others in volume and frequency that is not productive and has crossed into the realm of harassment."
People on this correspondence
| From | James R. Westbury, Jr., Westbury Law, outside counsel for GMA and GIRMA (signer) |
| To | Me, a private recipient, by email |
| Cc | Larry Hanson; Rusi Patel; Cindy Mallett; Tasha Hunt-Caudill; Robb Angotta; Kareem Klugh; Scott Kelly; Cameron Wall; the City of Brookhaven’s attorney (all by email, per the letter) |
A Cc line shows who was copied. It does not show who read it. A read receipt does not show agreement.
Read my commentary
Georgia POST
I asked Georgia POST in writing on April 23, 2026 for an ADA route. POST put its ADA notice, grievance procedure and complaint form online on August 7, 2026. 106 days. On July 15, 2026, Meghan Fail, ADA Coordinator, Georgia POST, wrote: “I have never received training or gained any real knowledge of ADA.” Read the Georgia POST record.
Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire
On October 9, 2026, the ADA Coordinator the State listed for the office answered automatically: “I am no longer with the agency.” Read the Insurance Commissioner record.
The Same Day, Georgia’s State ADA Coordinator Wrote to the State Bar of Georgia
"there are instances where State Bars have been held to be Title II entities under the ADA due to State Bars serving as administrative arms of state supreme courts or state governments"
Why I kept the receipts
I did not know this would become a website.
I was trying to keep the emails searchable.
Then the folder kept growing.
The documents started answering questions the State Bar of Georgia, the City of Brookhaven and GIRMA were not answering for me.
ADA Matters came later.
The evidence pages show what happened.
The Disabled Dad’s Journal is where I write about what it was like to have it happen.
Read The Disabled Dad’s JournalSee the ReceiptsStart at the Beginning
In June 2026, I told the State Bar of Georgia in writing that the public and the press would judge this story.
It is public now.
If any sentence here is wrong, the corrections process is public too.