Who they are
William D. NeSmith III is a Deputy General Counsel in the State Bar of Georgia Office of the General Counsel. He wrote the coverage denial. The State Bar lists him as Deputy General Counsel in its staff directory.
Why they are on this page
Facts only. What they did or did not do, each with a document behind it.
- On May 12, 2026 he wrote the Bar’s Title II denial, stating it is not a public entity and is not required to publish an ADA Coordinator, and sent it to the complainant alone with every other recipient stripped.
- The same email questioned whether he needed help and suggested the ADA request was aimed at a substantive outcome or litigation.
- He offered a meeting for 11:30, then wrote the next morning there was no meeting. On May 15 he shut down correspondence.
Timeline
Every email they sent, were sent, or were copied on, in order, each linked to the item. Where a read receipt was captured, the time is shown. Chronology, not motive.
| Date | Role | What it was | Read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20-30, 2026 | Copied | The reconsideration request, the April 21 responses, and the ADA package. No response. | Read it |
| May 11, 2026 | Copied | The written cure demand, cure window May 14. | Read it |
| May 12, 2026 | He sent | The Title II denial, 2:12 PM, to the complainant alone. “The State Bar of Georgia is not a public entity … it does not appear that you require assistance … may be directed … toward establishing a basis for further legal action against the State Bar.” | Read it |
| May 13, 2026 | He sent | The withdrawn meeting. “The 11:30 time was meant for a colleague of mine and was sent to you in error … there is no meeting between you and I at 11:30.” | Read it |
| May 14, 2026 | He did not | Send the response he had promised for that day. The cure window closed. | Read it |
| May 15, 2026 | He sent | The correspondence shutdown. “the State Bar of Georgia will not engage in further substantive correspondence with you … outside formal legal process.” | Read it |
| May 15, 2026 | Sent to him | The grievance filed against him. | Read it |
| June 17, 2026 | He read | As a named respondent, the grievance against him at 8:22 PM and the outstanding-issues letter at 8:25 PM. | Read it |
| June 30, 2026 | He received | The dismissal of the grievance against him. | Read it |
The complaint we filed
On May 15, 2026 we filed a grievance against Mr. NeSmith. Why: he issued a written denial that questioned a documented disability and imputed a litigation motive, sent it with the other recipients stripped, and then shut down the correspondence. Read the filing.
Their clearance
On June 30, 2026 the Bar dismissed that grievance, signed by Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair of the State Disciplinary Board, in a single paragraph. It was one of several matters closed that same day, each in a one paragraph letter. Read the dismissal.
The dismissal came at the screening gate, the first threshold a grievance has to pass. No investigation was opened. A screening dismissal means that, taking every fact in the complaint as true, the Bar decided the conduct was not even worth examining. Guilty or not, the Bar’s position is that these actions are not worth a look.