Shiptenko, State Bar of Georgia: Yes in May, “no request”

John J. Shiptenko granted my accommodations, promised no adverse action, called himself the State Bar of Georgia’s ADA Coordinator, and then closed my ADA matter the day after my letter. His name as ADA Coordinator still appears nowhere on gabar.org.

The short answer

John J. Shiptenko, Senior Assistant General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, granted a disabled dad’s accommodations in writing on May 4, 2026. On September 22, 2026, he wrote that he is “the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator.” On October 8, 2026, one day after the dad’s letter to the General Counsel, he wrote that the dad had made “no request.”

Scoreboard, as of October 23, 2026

Times John J. Shiptenko granted or approved my accommodations in writing	2 (May 4, May 13)
Times he wrote the State Bar of Georgia is “not subject to Title II”	1 (May 29)
Words in his reply to the grievance filed about him	1 (“Received.”)
Days between my October 7 letter and his closing of my ADA matter	1
Pages on gabar.org that name him as ADA Coordinator	0

What happened

I am a disabled dad. I like dogs, donuts and dad jokes. I also like knowing who to call. At the State Bar of Georgia, that turned out to be the hard part.

On April 30, 2026, John J. Shiptenko wrote to me: “I am serving as the ADA Coordinator for the reconsideration of your grievance.” For the reconsideration. Not for the State Bar of Georgia. Not on its website. For me, in my inbox.

On May 4, 2026, he granted my accommodations: written communication and accessible documents. He wrote: “The State Bar will not take any adverse action against you because you request ADA accommodations.” Hold on to that sentence.

On May 7, 2026, he wrote: “Please explain to me how you believe the Bar is discriminating against you in the grievance process, and I will do my best to address the issue.” On May 13, 2026: “The State Bar has approved your accommodation request.”

Then the door started to move. On May 26, 2026, about one of my questions, he wrote: “the process is the same regardless of whether the person submitting the document is disabled or not.” On May 29, 2026: “To be clear, the State Bar’s position remains that it is not subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

So the ADA Coordinator granted ADA accommodations on behalf of an office he says the ADA’s public entity rules do not reach. Lucy pulls the football.

On June 17, 2026, I filed a grievance about him. The next morning, June 18, he answered it himself, to me alone, in one word: “Received.”

On September 22, 2026, I asked him one question: are you still my ADA Coordinator? He wrote: “I am the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator, and you may continue to send your accommodation requests to me.” As of October 23, 2026, that sentence appears nowhere on gabar.org. His staff page calls him Senior Assistant General Counsel. Nothing more.

On October 7, 2026, I wrote to the General Counsel. On October 8, 2026, John J. Shiptenko wrote: “I am closing this matter, as you have made no request that can properly be classified as a request for an accommodation.”

Granted in May. “No request” in October. Same man.

Named is not trained. And named in an email is not named on a website. A disabled person looking for the State Bar of Georgia’s ADA Coordinator on gabar.org today will not find John J. Shiptenko. On October 23, 2026, the State Bar of Georgia’s “File a Grievance” page did not use the letters ADA once.

Is this how they would treat their own sister if she were disabled?

What he wrote

April 30, 2026: “I am serving as the ADA Coordinator for the reconsideration of your grievance.”
May 4, 2026: “The State Bar will not take any adverse action against you because you request ADA accommodations.”
May 7, 2026: “Please explain to me how you believe the Bar is discriminating against you in the grievance process, and I will do my best to address the issue.”
May 13, 2026: “The State Bar has approved your accommodation request.”
May 26, 2026: “the process is the same regardless of whether the person submitting the document is disabled or not.”
May 29, 2026: “To be clear, the State Bar’s position remains that it is not subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
June 17, 2026, 4:22 PM: “You appear to have the ability to use your voice-to-text tool to create a PDF.”
June 18, 2026, 8:05 AM, about the grievance filed against him: “Received.”
September 22, 2026: “I am the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator, and you may continue to send your accommodation requests to me.”
October 8, 2026: “I am closing this matter, as you have made no request that can properly be classified as a request for an accommodation.”

What I allege

I allege that John J. Shiptenko granted my accommodations in writing on May 4, 2026, and wrote on May 13, 2026 that the State Bar had approved my accommodation request.
I allege that on May 29, 2026, he wrote that the State Bar of Georgia’s position is that it is not subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
That is hard to square with an ADA Coordinator who grants ADA accommodations on that same office’s behalf.
I allege that on June 18, 2026, he acknowledged the grievance filed about him himself, in one word, to me alone.
I allege that on September 22, 2026, he wrote that he is the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator, and that as of October 23, 2026, gabar.org does not name him as one.
On the face of the document, his October 8, 2026 email closed my ADA matter one day after my October 7, 2026 letter to the General Counsel, on the ground that I had made “no request.”
It appears to me that closing the matter the next day was a way to end the conversation rather than answer it. If that is not the reason, they are welcome to tell me what is.
In my opinion, writing “no request” to a federally protected claimant whose accommodations the same man granted is not okay. On May 4 he wrote that the State Bar “will not take any adverse action against you because you request ADA accommodations.” I am left to wonder whether closing my ADA matter counts.

Why I keep going

The State Bar of Georgia answers court filings, fees and insurance claims. I answer to the court of public opinion. Thirteen days after his “no request,” the General Counsel used his sentence, added one word, and called my disability “asserted.”

So what about Georgia? What about Georgia, yeah?

Is this how they would treat a friend from church if she were disabled?

The documents

Corrections

I have invited the State Bar of Georgia to identify any inaccuracy on this page. As of October 23, 2026, it has identified none.

Georgia Bar’s ADA Coordinator Said Yes in May. In October: “no request.”