The Story · State Bar of Georgia
On June 30, 2026, between 4:23 and 4:35 PM, the State Bar of Georgia emailed me six decisions from a no reply address. Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair of the State Disciplinary Board, signed four: the complaints about John J. Shiptenko, William D. NeSmith III, Andreea N. Morrison and Leigh Burgess, four lawyers who work in the State Bar of Georgia’s own Office of the General Counsel. Each was one paragraph. the six June 30, 2026 decisions
If you know nothing about this, start here
The State Bar of Georgia decides complaints about Georgia lawyers. Some of the lawyers I complained about work for the State Bar of Georgia itself. On one afternoon it decided six of my matters. The ones about outside lawyers came with an evidence standard and reasons. The ones about its own lawyers came as a paragraph each, with no evidence standard stated. I was recovering from surgery when the six emails arrived.
June 30, 2026, by the numbers
| What the six June 30, 2026 letters show | Count |
|---|---|
| Decisions emailed between 4:23 and 4:35 PM Eastern | 6 |
| Signed by Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair, State Disciplinary Board | 4 |
| Of those four, about lawyers in the State Bar of Georgia’s Office of the General Counsel | 4 |
| Paragraphs of decision in each DeLoach letter | 1 |
| Evidence standard stated in the DeLoach letters | none |
| Signed by Adrienne D. Nash, Grievance Counsel | 2 |
| Evidence standard stated in the Nash letter on an outside lawyer | “clear and convincing evidence” |
| Minutes from the first email to the last | under 12 |
The one line to remember
“Based upon a review of this record, I find no basis for this grievance to be forwarded to the State Bar Disciplinary Board for investigation of violations of Rules 8.4(a)(4) or any other Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct.”
Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair, State Disciplinary Board, State Bar of Georgia, June 30, 2026, on my complaint about John J. Shiptenko. Read the receipt
Four letters. Substantially the same sentence in each. Then: “As a result, this grievance is dismissed.”
Two kinds of letter, same afternoon
| The outside lawyer (Nash, Grievance Counsel) | The Bar’s own four lawyers (DeLoach, Board Chair) | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence standard stated | “clear and convincing evidence” | None stated |
| Reasons given | Yes, before the decision | One paragraph, rule numbers cited, no reasons |
| Decision wording | “our office must dismiss the grievance.” | “As a result, this grievance is dismissed.” |
| Who decided | The Office of the General Counsel | A single Board member, not identified to me before the decision |
The sixth letter, also signed by Adrienne D. Nash: “Accordingly, your request for reconsideration is denied, and the dismissal of your grievance is affirmed.” That is the April 10 dismissal, the one made without my two answers in the file, affirmed. Georgia Bar Had My 2 Answers. Its Dismissal Said It Had None.
Where I was
I did not write back for 71 days. On September 5, 2026, I told the State Bar of Georgia why:
“I have had serious medical problems since June, including surgery and hospital stays, and I have not been able to keep up correspondence. That is why this letter comes in September instead of July.”
Me, to Sandra Dixon, Director of Human Resources, State Bar of Georgia, September 5, 2026, 8:07 AM.
The six letters went out while that was happening. Nothing in them waited for me, asked after me, or needed me. They did not need to. The State Bar of Georgia had told me in April that my participation was not required. Georgia Bar Lawyer to Me: “your participation is not required”
The question I came back to
My September 5 email asked one thing: where did the complaint I sent Human Resources on June 8, 2026 go? That was 89 days. The next day, September 6, at 2:09 PM, a read receipt came back from Sarah I. Coole, Chief Operating Officer. A read receipt says someone opened it. It is not an answer. Proof of the September 6 read receipt
What I allege
1. I allege that on June 30, 2026 the State Bar of Georgia emailed me six decisions in under twelve minutes, from a no reply address. The six letters and their time stamps are linked above.
2. I allege that the four complaints about the State Bar of Georgia’s own lawyers were each decided in one paragraph signed by Jeffrey W. DeLoach, citing rule numbers and stating no evidence standard, and that the complaint about an outside lawyer, decided the same day, stated a “clear and convincing evidence” standard and gave reasons. The letters say so themselves.
3. I allege that I was never told who would decide the four complaints about the State Bar of Georgia’s own lawyers until the decisions arrived. My own September 15, 2026 letter to Jeffrey W. DeLoach asked him how. I Asked Georgia Bar Disciplinary Board Chair Jeffrey W. DeLoach How He Dismissed Four Grievances
4. I allege that the sixth letter affirmed a dismissal the State Bar of Georgia had already admitted was decided without my answers in the file. Leigh Burgess’s April 21, 2026 email and Adrienne D. Nash’s June 30, 2026 letter are both linked on this page.
5. The State Bar of Georgia sent two kinds of letter that afternoon: one for a complaint about a lawyer outside the building, with a standard and reasons, and one for complaints about lawyers inside it, with a paragraph. I cannot see inside the building. I can read the two kinds of letter, and they are different.
6. Six matters. I had been writing to the State Bar of Georgia about them since January 23, 2026, every letter with voice software. The answers came in twelve minutes of one Tuesday afternoon. I was in and out of the hospital when the six emails landed. I did not read them for weeks. Nothing from the State Bar of Georgia asked where I had gone, and when I came back the first thing I had to do was ask, again, where a complaint went.
Is this how they would treat their own family or friends that were disabled
Questions and answers
What did the State Bar of Georgia decide on June 30, 2026? Six matters. Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair of the State Disciplinary Board, signed four dismissals of complaints about John J. Shiptenko, William D. NeSmith III, Andreea N. Morrison and Leigh Burgess. Adrienne D. Nash, Grievance Counsel, signed a dismissal of the complaint about James R. Westbury, Jr. and a decision affirming the April 10 dismissal.
Did the State Bar of Georgia use the same standard for its own lawyers and for outside lawyers? The letters do not read the same. The Nash letter on the outside lawyer states a “clear and convincing evidence” standard and gives reasons. The four DeLoach letters on the State Bar of Georgia’s own lawyers are one paragraph each, cite rule numbers and state no evidence standard.
Did my June 8, 2026 complaint to Human Resources ever get an answer? As of October 22, 2026, no. The record shows a read receipt from Sarah I. Coole on September 6, 2026 and no reply from Human Resources. On October 21, 2026, Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, wrote that all seven grievances are “concluded” and “will not be re-opened.” His email does not mention the Human Resources complaint.
Read the documents
I am not asking you to take my word for any of it. I am asking you to read theirs.
The six June 30, 2026 decisions · Proof of Leigh Burgess’s April 21, 2026 admission · My September 5, 2026 email to Sandra Dixon · My September 15, 2026 letter to Jeffrey W. DeLoach · The Receipts
Corrections
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