ADA Matters Because All People Matter

A DISABLED DAD’S ADA MATTERS
Georgia on My Mind
STATE BAR OF GEORGIA • CITY OF BROOKHAVEN • GIRMA, GMA, AND GALLAGHER BASSETT • GEORGIA POST • STATE ADA COORDINATOR’S OFFICE

Things John J. Shiptenko Did to Me, and When John J. Shiptenko Did It

Back to John J. Shiptenko · the State Bar record

Things John J. Shiptenko Did to Me:

  1. On May 4, 2026, at 10:56 AM, in the same email that granted “Written-only accommodation” and “No telephone-only communications,” John J. Shiptenko wrote: “If you feel comfortable providing me with a description of your disability, please do so.” On May 7, 2026, at 10:01 AM, he asked again for “a description of your disability”, and wrote: “Also, please call me if you think a phone call will help clarify your ADA-related issues”. Read the May 4 email
  2. On June 17, 2026, at 4:22 PM, after I reported that the grievance form “is not a fillable form that works with my voice to text workflow,” he wrote: “You appear to have the ability to use your voice-to-text tool to create a PDF.” In the same email: “we are happy to accommodate you by accepting a grievance document generated with your existing voice-to-text tool.” My email had copied sixteen people. His answer copied two. Read his email
  3. On May 12, 2026, at 2:35 PM, twenty three minutes after William D. NeSmith III’s email to me, he wrote to the State ADA Coordinator, without copying me: “The State Bar of Georgia is not a public entity, such as a federal, state, or local government department or agency.” Five days earlier he had written to me: “A public entity can have numerous ADA coordinators” and “I am one of the designated ADA Coordinators”.
  4. On May 29, 2026, at 3:15 PM, he wrote: “To be clear, the State Bar’s position remains that it is not subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.” He also wrote that “such obligations would arise under Title III rather than Title II”, that “the State Bar absolutely will not engage” in what he called “adversarial email correspondence,” and that I “must direct all those questions to Deputy General Counsel Bill NeSmith.” Read his answer
  5. On October 8, 2026, at 5:33 PM, sixteen days after writing “you may continue to send your accommodation requests to me,” he closed my October 7 request to confirm in writing that the State Bar had received my letter: “I am closing this matter, as you have made no request that can properly be classified as a request for an accommodation.”
  6. On June 18, 2026, at 8:05 AM, the grievance I filed against him was answered by him, with one word, to me alone: “Received.” It had been addressed to two people with fifteen more copied. On June 30, 2026, at 4:23 PM, the dismissal went out copied to him. Read his one word reply
  7. Seven of the thirteen replies I hold from him that quote my email removed people I had copied. On June 17, 2026 I told him in writing, “You also again removed the broader distribution I had included”. On September 22, 2026 his reply also dropped the State ADA Coordinator’s office group address.
  8. On May 26, 2026 he ran the interactive process while routing eleven of the fifteen consolidated questions to the official who had denied coverage.
  9. On June 26, 2026, at 8:39 AM, his mailbox wrote, “I will do my best to respond to your email message on June 29, 2026,” and sent me to Nariah Dancy, the State Bar’s Pro Hac Vice Administrator. No email from him dated June 29 is in my mailbox. From June 18 to September 22, 2026, 96 days, I received no email from him other than two automatic replies.

When John J. Shiptenko Did It:

Every email he sent me, every letter addressed to him, and every automatic reply, in order, each linked to the item. Times are Eastern. Chronology, not motive.

DateRoleWhat it wasRead it
Apr 30, 2026He sent2:37 PM Eastern: John J. Shiptenko wrote, “I am serving as the ADA Coordinator for the reconsideration of your grievance,” and that the Office of the General Counsel “does not need further information or participation from you at this stage.”Read it: Shiptenko, April 30: ‘I Am Serving as the ADA Coordinator’
May 1, 2026He sent8:28 AM, 8:32 AM and 8:33 AM Eastern: John J. Shiptenko sent three separate replies. Each said, “Thank you.”Read it: John J. Shiptenko, State Bar of Georgia: three receipts in five minutes, not one…
May 4, 2026He sent10:56 AM Eastern: The accommodations grant. “The State Bar wants to ensure that you have the same rights and opportunities as non-disabled grievants.”Read it: The State Bar of Georgia ADA Access Diary
May 7, 2026He sent10:01 AM Eastern: The self designation. “Since Ms. Nash is handling your reconsideration, I am serving as your ADA Coordinator.” In the same email he wrote, “A public entity can have numerous ADA coordinators” and “I am one of the designated ADA Coordinators.”Read it: The State Bar of Georgia ADA Access Diary
May 7, 2026He sent10:01 AM: in the same email he asked again for “a description of your disability”, and invited a phone call, three days after granting “No telephone-only communications.”Read it: Describe Your Disability
May 12, 2026He sentAt 2:35 PM, twenty three minutes after William D. NeSmith III’s email to me, he wrote to Stacey Peace, State ADA Coordinator, about the State Bar of Georgia’s status. I was not copied. “The State Bar of Georgia is not a public entity, such as a federal, state, or local government department or agency.”Read it: John J. Shiptenko to Stacey Peace, May 12, 2026
May 13, 2026He sent12:08 PM Eastern: John J. Shiptenko wrote, “The State Bar has approved your accommodation request.”Read it: Georgia Bar Approves ADA Accommodation
May 20, 2026He sentThe courtesy copy reply. “I received it as a courtesy copy. You can contact Ms. Nash directly to verify her receipt.”Read it: The State Bar of Georgia ADA Access Diary
May 26, 2026He sentThe interactive process email and the question sort routing eleven of the fifteen questions to the official who denied coverage.Read it: The State Bar of Georgia ADA Access Diary
May 29, 2026He sent3:15 PM Eastern: The reversal. “the State Bar’s position remains that it is not subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.” He also wrote that “such obligations would arise under Title III rather than Title II.”Read it: The State Bar of Georgia ADA Access Diary
June 2, 2026He sent2:08 PM Eastern: John J. Shiptenko wrote, “I do not read anything in either of your emails as containing a request for additional accommodations.”Read it: Bar Logged the Burgess Grievance. ADA Contact: Requests Only
June 16, 2026He sent1:43 PM Eastern: John J. Shiptenko wrote that Adrienne D. Nash had resumed her review, copied her, and attached the grievance form again.Read it: John J. Shiptenko Returned Grievance Form, June 16
June 17, 2026He sentThe voice to text reply. “we are happy to accommodate you by accepting a grievance document generated with your existing voice-to-text tool.”Read it: The State Bar of Georgia ADA Access Diary
June 17, 2026Filed7:19 PM: my grievance against him, sent to him and Adrienne D. Nash, the route he offered on June 16, with fifteen more copied.Read it: Grievance Against the Bar’s ADA Contact
June 18, 2026He sentThe one word acknowledgment of the grievance against him. “Received.”Read it: The State Bar of Georgia ADA Access Diary
June 30, 2026He received4:23 PM Eastern: The dismissal of the grievance against him. He was copied.Read it: The Bar dismissed my grievance against its ADA contact, John J. Shiptenko
June 26, 2026Automatic reply8:39 AM: “I will do my best to respond to your email message on June 29, 2026.” No email from him came June 29.Read it: The June 26 Automatic Reply
September 14, 2026He was askedAsked whether he is still the ADA contact, where a complaint about the access process itself goes, and where the Bar publishes its ADA contact. Answer due September 24, 2026.Read it: September 14 Questions to the Bar’s ADA Contact
Sept 19, 2026Automatic reply4:18 PM Eastern: John J. Shiptenko’s mailbox returned an automatic reply promising a response September 22.Read it: Shiptenko Was Out. His Backup Handles Lawyer Admissions
Sept 22, 2026He sent8:07 AM Eastern: John J. Shiptenko wrote, “I am the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator, and you may continue to send your accommodation requests to me.” That sentence answered the September 19 one question email. As of October 17, 2026, the remaining September 14 questions had no answer.Read it: What a State Bar ADA Coordinator Is Supposed to Do
Sept 22, 2026Copied10:55 AM Eastern: John J. Shiptenko was copied on the letter to Russell D. Willard, General Counsel.Read it: Russell D. Willard, State Bar of Georgia: How Do Both Fit?
Oct 7, 2026Sent to him3:35 PM: a request, as a reasonable modification, to confirm in writing that the State Bar received my October 7 letter and to tell me who would answer it.Read it: ADA Coordinator, Then Closed
Oct 8, 2026He sent5:33 PM: the closure.“I am closing this matter, as you have made no request that can properly be classified as a request for an accommodation.”Read it: ADA Coordinator, Then Closed

ADA Matters welcomes documented corrections. Write to info@adamatters.com with the correct fact and its source.

Back to John J. Shiptenko · the State Bar record