The Story · State Bar of Georgia
On June 17, 2026, I filed a complaint with the State Bar of Georgia about John J. Shiptenko, the lawyer it names as its contact for disability access. The next morning at 8:05 AM he answered it himself, in one word: “Received.” By June 25, 2026, that word was the only response I had from the State Bar of Georgia on any of seven matters open with it. Proof of the one word reply
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 there. One of them is the lawyer the State Bar of Georgia told me to send disability complaints to. So when I complained about him, the complaint went to him. He confirmed it. Nobody else did.
As of June 25, 2026
| What the record shows | Count |
|---|---|
| Matters I had open with the State Bar of Georgia | 7 |
| Decisions the State Bar of Georgia had issued on them | 0 |
| Words in the only acknowledgment of my June 17 complaint | 1 |
| People at the State Bar of Georgia who acknowledged that complaint | 1, the lawyer it was about |
| Days since my first filing, January 23, 2026 | 153 |
| Days past the State Bar of Georgia’s own June 15 deadline on the reconsideration | 10 |
The one line to remember
“Received.”
John J. Shiptenko, Senior Assistant General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, June 18, 2026, 8:05 AM, to me alone, about the complaint I had filed about him. Read the receipt
## What happened
- June 17, 2026. I file a complaint about John J. Shiptenko with the State Bar of Georgia, using the alternate filing route the State Bar of Georgia itself had offered me, with its leadership copied.
- June 18, 2026, 8:05 AM. John J. Shiptenko replies, to me alone, with the leadership dropped: “Received.” No complaint number, no reviewer, no next step.
- June 25, 2026. I write back, restore every recipient he dropped, and ask for a written status on each of seven open matters. I tell him: “You are the respondent in that grievance. You are also the only person at the Bar who has acknowledged it. No one else has responded.” And: “The dispositions are the Bar’s. There are none.”
- June 30, 2026. Four days later, the State Bar of Georgia sends six decisions in twelve minutes. Georgia Bar Issued 6 Decisions in 12 Minutes. 4 Judged Its Own Lawyers.
One of the seven was the reconsideration of the April 10 dismissal, the one made without my two answers in the file. The State Bar of Georgia had set itself a June 15 deadline to decide it. On June 25 that deadline was ten days gone and the April 10 letter still said no rebuttal was received. Georgia Bar Had My 2 Answers. Its Dismissal Said It Had None.
What it cost
“I have been waiting since January. I write every one of these letters with voice software. You found one word in a day. The disposition is five months late.”
Me, to John J. Shiptenko and the State Bar of Georgia’s leadership, June 25, 2026.
What I allege
1. I allege that the State Bar of Georgia routed my complaint about John J. Shiptenko to John J. Shiptenko, because he is the address it gave me for disability complaints, and that he was the only person there who acknowledged it. His June 18, 2026 email is linked above.
2. I allege that his one word reply went to me alone and dropped every leader I had copied. The two emails, side by side, show the recipients.
3. I allege that as of June 25, 2026, after five months and seven matters, the State Bar of Georgia had issued no decision on any of them and had missed its own June 15 deadline on the reconsideration. My June 25 email, linked above, says so and nobody at the State Bar of Georgia disputed it.
4. A complaint system where the man you complain about receives the complaint, and is the only man who answers it, is not a complaint system. It is a mailbox.
5. “Received.” was the State Bar of Georgia’s entire written response on my seven matters for five months. Four days after I said so in writing to its leadership, six decisions arrived in twelve minutes. I cannot see cause. I can see the calendar.
Is this how they would treat their own family or friends that were disabled
Questions and answers
Who at the State Bar of Georgia acknowledged my complaint about John J. Shiptenko? John J. Shiptenko. One word, “Received.”, on June 18, 2026, to me alone. Nobody else had by June 25.
Had the State Bar of Georgia decided any of my seven matters by June 25, 2026? No. Six were decided on June 30, 2026. The seventh, my June 8 complaint to Human Resources, had no answer from Human Resources as of October 22, 2026. 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.
Why does one word matter? Because it came from the lawyer I had complained about, it dropped every leader I had copied, and for five months it was the only answer the State Bar of Georgia gave me on anything.
Read the documents
I am not asking you to take my word for any of it. I am asking you to read theirs.
Proof of the June 18, 2026 one word reply · My June 25, 2026 status demand · The six June 30, 2026 decisions · The Receipts
Corrections
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