REDACTED COPYas received, with personal identifiers redacted
On April 21, 2026, Assistant General Counsel Leigh Burgess of the State Bar of Georgia emailed me. The email, its date and the people on it are below.
Date: April 21, 2026
From: Assistant General Counsel Leigh Burgess
To: The complainant
Subject: FW: [External] Grievance No. [redacted] — Correction of April 10 Dismissal and Request for Recusal
The email, as received, with personal identifiers redacted:
The load-bearing admission, verbatim:
“As a result of this misclassification, your submissions were not added to the grievance file at that time.”
What this shows: The Bar’s own counsel admitted in writing that the complainant’s submissions had been misclassified and were not added to the grievance file at the time the dismissal issued.
Leigh Burgess Confirmed the Georgia Bar Had My Answers but Left Them Out of the File
[Salutation 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
[Signature block continues with the State Bar of Georgia office address, telephone numbers and social media links, not reproduced here.]
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
[Signature block continues with the State Bar of Georgia office address, telephone numbers and social media links, not reproduced here.]