ADA matters because people matter
ADA matters because people matter
Category: ADA Access Journal
-
As of June 26, 2026, the State Bar of Georgia had given a grievance against an outside lawyer a case number, a reviewer, and a written decision, while seven grievances against people connected to the Bar sat open with no disposition. In the complainant’s words: “The table does not show confusion. It shows disparity.”
-
On June 26, 2026, Deputy General Counsel William D. NeSmith III, President Christopher Twyman, and Chief Operating Officer Sarah Coole each opened the complainant’s “42 Days of Silence” email within 45 minutes, per the State Bar of Georgia’s own read receipts. None replied.
-
On June 26, 2026, the State Bar of Georgia ADA Coordinator John J. Shiptenko, the respondent in a grievance filed against him, posted an out-of-office reply naming the Pro Hac Vice Administrator as the contact, while three senior officials read the message within 45 minutes and none replied.
-
On June 17, 2026, the day the complainant sent the State Bar of Georgia a list of outstanding ADA compliance questions, Governmental Affairs Director Jennifer McNeely and an OGC staff member posted out-of-office replies, while the COO and Deputy General Counsel read the message within hours.
-
On June 1, 2026, after the complainant asked the State Bar of Georgia to confirm it had received a grievance, Grievance Counsel Adrienne Nash replied with an out-of-office message for June 1 to 5.
-
On April 21, 2026, the complainant asked the State Bar of Georgia to recuse Deputy General Counsel Andreea Morrison and copied her boss. She read it within the hour; by the next evening her office posted an out-of-office reply with no backup contact and a promised return reply that never came.
-
On June 18, 2026, ADA Coordinator John J. Shiptenko acknowledged a grievance filed against him in a single word, “Received.” By June 25 it remained, by the complainant’s account, the only response on any of seven matters open with the State Bar of Georgia, none of which had a disposition.
-
On June 17, 2026, John J. Shiptenko, the State Bar of Georgia ADA Coordinator assigned to my matter, told me I could file a grievance using my own voice-to-text tool. The emails and the grievance are linked here.
-
On May 12, 2026, Deputy General Counsel William D. NeSmith III wrote that the State Bar of Georgia is “not a public entity” and “not required to have a published ADA Coordinator,” eight days after the Bar granted the complainant accommodations.
-
On April 21, 2026, Assistant General Counsel Leigh Burgess admitted the State Bar of Georgia had received the complainant’s February submissions and misclassified them, leaving them out of the grievance file before the April 10 dismissal.