Disabled Dad Calls for His Resignation
State Bar of Georgia General Counsel Russell D. Willard allegedly attacked a disabled complainant for citing his ADA rights. I am that complainant. On October 21, 2026, after his own office had approved my accommodation request, he called my disability “your claim of being disabled”. He called what I sent “informational demands and other litigation-related threats”. On October 27, I called for his resignation.
I am a disabled dad who likes dogs, donuts, and dad jokes.
Why was State Bar of Georgia General Counsel Russell D. Willard asked to resign?
On October 27, 2026, I asked Russell D. Willard to resign because of what he wrote to me on October 21, 2026, six days earlier, about my disability and my ADA requests.
What does the October 27 email allege about Russell D. Willard?
My October 27 email alleges:
-
It does not appear that Mr. Willard checked his own office’s file. It had approved my accommodation request on May 13. On October 21 he called my disability a claim.
“your claim of being disabled”
Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, October 21, 2026. See the published correspondence and dated sources “The State Bar has approved your accommodation request.”
John J. Shiptenko, ADA Coordinator, State Bar of Georgia, May 13, 2026. The State Bar of Georgia’s dated record -
It seems Mr. Willard drew his own line: every request that could “even arguably” count as an accommodation had been granted, he wrote. He called other communications “informational demands and other litigation-related threats”.
“Every accommodation request that you made to the Office of the General Counsel pursuant to your claim of being disabled which could even arguably be considered as a request for an accommodation from the State Bar to enable you to participate in its services due to your asserted disability was granted by the designated ADA Coordinator, Senior Assistant General Counsel John Shiptenko.”
Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, October 21, 2026. See the published correspondence and dated sources “You have conflated and erroneously characterized, however, informational demands and other litigation-related threats as requests for accommodations.”
Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, October 21, 2026. See the published correspondence and dated sources -
His reply may be directed less toward my ADA questions and more toward changing the subject. It dropped “ADA Access” from the subject line and went to 24 addresses. In my view, it did not answer the specific access and routing questions I had raised.
The subject line My October 7, 2026 email “Correspondence to State Bar of Georgia: ADA Access” His October 21, 2026 reply “Response to Correspondence to the State Bar of Georgia” -
Allegedly, “nothing further is pending”.
“However, until such time, nothing further is pending with the State Bar related to your grievances, and you should not expect to hear directly from any State Bar-affiliated personnel regarding anything arising from these seven dismissed grievances or their appropriate disposition.”
Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, October 21, 2026. See the published correspondence and dated sources “Should you wish to pursue this matter in court or through a relevant administrative proceeding, the State Bar will respond appropriately to any allegations that you raise therein and seek any remedies that we are entitled to seek.”
Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, October 21, 2026. See the published correspondence and dated sources
I called for his resignation and asked the State Bar’s Board of Governors to remove him and Deputy General Counsel William D. NeSmith III. That is my request, not a decision of the Board.
Email, “RE: Response to Correspondence to the State Bar of Georgia”, October 27, 2026, 5:21 PM ET
Typed reproduction
- What it is
- My reply to Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia, copied to the State Bar recipients of his October 21 email.
- Provenance
- Typed from the sent message. Names, contact details, a tracking number, medical details and every passage about the family are removed and marked in brackets. Nothing else is changed.
- What it shows
- That I called for his resignation and asked the Board of Governors to remove him and William D. NeSmith III, and what I wrote about each.
- What it does not show
- Any decision by the Board of Governors, or any answer from the State Bar.
On May 15, 2026, Mr. NeSmith wrote that the State Bar of Georgia “disputes your factual assertions, characterizations, and legal conclusions”. Its own words are above, each with its date.
What did Russell D. Willard say about how the four State Bar grievances were reviewed?
On October 21, 2026, Russell D. Willard wrote that the Chair of the State Disciplinary Board reviewed my four grievances against State Bar lawyers, while his office reviewed the others.
| The June 30 letters | My grievance against James R. Westbury, Jr., a lawyer outside the Office of the General Counsel | My grievances against four lawyers in that office: John J. Shiptenko, William D. NeSmith III, Andreea N. Morrison and Leigh Burgess |
|---|---|---|
| Who signed | Adrienne D. Nash, Grievance Counsel | Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair of the State Disciplinary Board |
| What the letter provided | It named the “clear and convincing evidence” standard and explained why it was not met | One paragraph per dismissal, without a named evidence standard or an explanation of which evidence was insufficient |
| Result | Dismissed | All four dismissed |
| How the decisions arrived | From the State Bar’s no reply mailbox | From that same State Bar no reply mailbox |
On October 21, Russell D. Willard confirmed the split. The grievances about lawyers outside his office, he wrote, “were reviewed by my office pursuant to the GRPC and found to be without sufficient merit to warrant further consideration.” (GRPC is his short form for the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct.) The four about State Bar lawyers, he wrote, “were reviewed by the Chair of the State Disciplinary Board” rather than by his office. Jeffrey W. DeLoach signed all four letters. Mr. Willard described that reviewer as:
“a non-State Bar employee vested with authority pursuant to the GRPC to review grievances”
He named the reviewer, but not the numbered provision used to assign these four grievances. Rule 4-202 authorizes the Office of the General Counsel to screen grievances and also to send information to the State Disciplinary Board. Rule 4-203(4) permits the Board to delegate specified duties to its Chair and makes that delegation “subject to review and approval by the full State Disciplinary Board” under the published rule. In the State Bar handbook copy I saved on September 14, 2026, I found no specific procedure explaining who screens a grievance against the Office’s own lawyers, who sends it to the Chair, or how the Board reviews that delegation. I asked the State Bar to identify the rule actually used, the people who handled each stage and the dates of any review and approval.
Two routes. The same dismissal result. Different explanations.
That is the difference I call the two tier record. I am asking the State Bar to identify the written routing authority, the people who performed the reviews, and the process it will follow now that the General Counsel, his deputy and the Chair are named in the new filings. Naming a reviewer from the last round does not answer who reviews a matter concerning that reviewer.
At a glance
As of October 27, 2026, 6:11 PM ET.
| Recorded action | Count |
|---|---|
| Days from the State Bar approving my accommodation (May 13) to its General Counsel calling my disability a “claim” (October 21) | 161 |
| State Bar lawyers I asked the Board of Governors to remove | 2 |
| Emails I sent the State Bar on October 27 | 5 |
| New grievances | 3 |
| Title II complaints | 2 |
| ADA issues I still dispute | 12 |
All five show delivery notices. Some mailboxes marked them read, and one sent an automatic reply. A read receipt shows a mailbox marked an email read. It does not show who read it.
Five messages in 47 minutes
| Sent, October 27 ET | Where it went | What this email did |
|---|---|---|
| 5:21 PM | Russell D. Willard, General Counsel, State Bar of Georgia | Answered his October 21 email, called for his resignation, and asked the Board of Governors to remove him and Deputy General Counsel William D. NeSmith III |
| 5:21 PM | John J. Shiptenko, the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator, with the same State Bar recipients copied | Sent twelve open ADA issues, three grievances, two Title II complaints and a written ADA request |
| 5:22 PM | John J. Shiptenko and the same recipients | Sent my Title II complaint about the Office of the General Counsel as its own email |
| 5:22 PM | John J. Shiptenko and the same recipients | Sent my Title II complaint about the State Bar’s Human Resources office as its own email |
| 6:08 PM | John J. Shiptenko and the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator address, with 25 addresses copied | Sent the three grievances again and asked who will handle them, and under what rule |
Why these emails exist
On April 21, 2026, State Bar Assistant General Counsel Leigh Burgess wrote that two of my written submissions, sent in February, never reached the file before a grievance was dismissed:
“As a result of this misclassification, your submissions were not added to the grievance file at that time.”
The same email said they “have now been added to the file.” She wrote: “I apologize for the oversight and appreciate your patience.”
The question for the ADA Coordinator
At 6:08 PM I sent the three grievances again to John J. Shiptenko, as the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator. On September 22 he had written to me: “I am the State Bar’s ADA Coordinator, and you may continue to send your accommodation requests to me.” My grievance against Mr. Shiptenko was one of the four Mr. DeLoach dismissed on June 30. So I asked him to acknowledge the three and send them to an authorized, independent official, not to screen or decide them himself.
I asked the State Bar to name the accessible route and the people accountable for it.
For each grievance I asked four things in writing: the rule that governs it, how it will be handled, who will investigate and decide it, and when I will get an accessible written decision. Not Mr. DeLoach on the grievance against himself. No one who reports to Mr. Willard.
What came back
As of October 27, 2026, at 6:11 PM ET, the mail record I reviewed contained delivery notices for all five emails, some mailbox read receipts and one automatic reply. Those notices confirm delivery or mailbox activity, not a decision on any grievance or ADA request. I asked for written answers to fifteen questions by November 9, 2026, at 5 PM. That requested response date had not yet arrived.
Read the documents
I am not asking you to take my word for any of it. I am asking you to read theirs.
- Leigh Burgess’s April 21 admission about the missing submissions
- Proof of Jeffrey W. DeLoach signing four one paragraph dismissals on June 30
- What Russell D. Willard wrote to me, and when
- The State Bar hub’s record of the May 13 accommodation approval
- My October 27, 5:21 PM email to Russell D. Willard, typed from the sent message, with family and medical details removed
- My October 27, 5:21 PM email to John J. Shiptenko, typed from the sent message
- My October 27, 6:08 PM email to John J. Shiptenko, typed from the sent message
- William D. NeSmith III allegedly attacks disabled complainant for citing his ADA rights
I intend to add public copies of the three grievances and two Title II complaints here after each one passes a separate review.
Corrections
ADA Matters welcomes documented corrections. Write to info@adamatters.com with the correct fact and its source.