Editor’s note, September 19, 2026: The Deputy General Counsel’s email referred to here as May 11 is dated May 12, 2026, 2:12 PM, in the original record. The letters are reproduced as sent.
EMAIL RECEIVED · 2026-05-13
On May 13, 2026, the State Bar of Georgia sent me this email. The full text is below.
Read the text transcript
Mr. ███████:
The 11:30 time was meant for a colleague of mine and was sent to you in error. I haven’t had time to sufficiently digest your response. Please allow me time to do that I will provide you with my thoughts.
So, to be clear, there is no meeting between you and I at 11:30.
I apologize for the confusion.
William D. NeSmith, III | Deputy General Counsel
State Bar of Georgia
104 Marietta Street NW Suite 100 | Atlanta, GA 30303
404-527-8728 | ██████████████<mailto:██████████████>
________________________________
On May 12, 2026, at 8:54 PM, ██████ ███████ <██████████████> wrote:
Mr. NeSmith —
Confirmed for 11:30 tomorrow. ███████ has a medical appointment at 8:30 AM, but I will be available by 11:30. Telephone or video is fine; please advise which and provide the dial-in or video link, along with anticipated meeting duration.
I will require the use of my accommodation note-taking software during the meeting. This is an assistive technology I rely on consistent with the written-only and accessible-format accommodations granted by Mr. Shiptenko on May 4, 2026, and operates under 28 C.F.R. § 35.160(b)(1) effective communication and § 35.130(b)(7) reasonable modification. The software enables me to maintain accurate contemporaneous documentation of the meeting given the limitations imposed by my disability. Please confirm in advance that the meeting format you select is compatible with this assistive technology.
I would like to discuss the designation of a single institutional point of contact for this matter as an agenda item tomorrow. Across the past several weeks, I have been corresponding with seven institutional actors (Mr. Willard, President Twyman, Mr. Shiptenko, Ms. Nash, Ms. Burgess, Ms. Morrison, and yourself), several of whom have transmitted correspondence to me on one-recipient distributions, often outside business hours, with limited notice. As a qualified individual with a disability under active medical care, I would benefit from a single coherent institutional contact for this matter. I am open to whichever Bar actor is appropriate. Mr. Shiptenko was previously identified by the Bar as the responsible ADA contact under 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(a).
I am restoring the institutional cc list to this reply. As noted in my May 12 response, Section 1, please do not transmit further correspondence in this matter to me alone. The institutional cc list including the Georgia State ADA Coordinator's Office has been operative since at least April 21, 2026 and remains operative now.
The May 14, 2026, 17:00 ET cure window remains in effect. Tomorrow's meeting is in addition to, not in substitution for, the substantive written response to the v4 letter's fifteen clarification questions, the Twyman forward's eleven institutional confirmation questions, and the Shiptenko Response's seven demands.
Respectfully,
██████ ███████ Qualified Individual With a Disability 42 U.S.C. §§ 12102, 12131–12134 | 29 U.S.C. § 794 | 28 C.F.R. Part 35
██████████████, ██████████████
██████████████ | ██████████████<mailto:██████████████>
________________________________
From: Bill NeSmith <██████████████>
Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 6:37 PM
To: ██████ ███████ <██████████████>
Subject: Re: [External] Re: Response to May 11 ADA Position — Record Integrity, Evidence Route, and Coverage Preservation
I am available at 11.30 only.
William D. NeSmith, III | Deputy General Counsel
State Bar of Georgia
104 Marietta Street NW Suite 100 | Atlanta, GA 30303
404-527-8728 | ██████████████<mailto:██████████████>
________________________________
On May 12, 2026, at 3:41 PM, ██████ ███████ <██████████████> wrote:
[ADA status paragraph.]
Mr. NeSmith —
Please see the attached response to your May 11, 2026 email regarding Grievance No. ██████-█████, transmitted with full institutional cc list restored. The institutional forward to Bar President Twyman referenced in Section 10 was transmitted earlier today.
Read and delivery receipts requested. Acknowledgment of receipt requested within three business days. Substantive response requested on or before May 14, 2026, 17:00 ET.
Respectfully,
██████ ███████
Qualified Individual With a Disability
42 U.S.C. §§ 12131–12134 | 29 U.S.C. § 794 | 28 C.F.R. Part 35
██████████████, ██████████████
██████████████ | ██████████████
Attachment: NeSmith_Response_FINAL_v5_20260512.pdf
[Accessibility notice.]
<NeSmith_Response_FINAL_20260512.pdf>
The 11:30 time was meant for a colleague of mine and was sent to you in error. I haven’t had time to sufficiently digest your response. Please allow me time to do that I will provide you with my thoughts.
So, to be clear, there is no meeting between you and I at 11:30.
I apologize for the confusion.
William D. NeSmith, III | Deputy General Counsel
State Bar of Georgia
104 Marietta Street NW Suite 100 | Atlanta, GA 30303
404-527-8728 | ██████████████<mailto:██████████████>
________________________________
On May 12, 2026, at 8:54 PM, ██████ ███████ <██████████████> wrote:
Mr. NeSmith —
Confirmed for 11:30 tomorrow. ███████ has a medical appointment at 8:30 AM, but I will be available by 11:30. Telephone or video is fine; please advise which and provide the dial-in or video link, along with anticipated meeting duration.
I will require the use of my accommodation note-taking software during the meeting. This is an assistive technology I rely on consistent with the written-only and accessible-format accommodations granted by Mr. Shiptenko on May 4, 2026, and operates under 28 C.F.R. § 35.160(b)(1) effective communication and § 35.130(b)(7) reasonable modification. The software enables me to maintain accurate contemporaneous documentation of the meeting given the limitations imposed by my disability. Please confirm in advance that the meeting format you select is compatible with this assistive technology.
I would like to discuss the designation of a single institutional point of contact for this matter as an agenda item tomorrow. Across the past several weeks, I have been corresponding with seven institutional actors (Mr. Willard, President Twyman, Mr. Shiptenko, Ms. Nash, Ms. Burgess, Ms. Morrison, and yourself), several of whom have transmitted correspondence to me on one-recipient distributions, often outside business hours, with limited notice. As a qualified individual with a disability under active medical care, I would benefit from a single coherent institutional contact for this matter. I am open to whichever Bar actor is appropriate. Mr. Shiptenko was previously identified by the Bar as the responsible ADA contact under 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(a).
I am restoring the institutional cc list to this reply. As noted in my May 12 response, Section 1, please do not transmit further correspondence in this matter to me alone. The institutional cc list including the Georgia State ADA Coordinator's Office has been operative since at least April 21, 2026 and remains operative now.
The May 14, 2026, 17:00 ET cure window remains in effect. Tomorrow's meeting is in addition to, not in substitution for, the substantive written response to the v4 letter's fifteen clarification questions, the Twyman forward's eleven institutional confirmation questions, and the Shiptenko Response's seven demands.
Respectfully,
██████ ███████ Qualified Individual With a Disability 42 U.S.C. §§ 12102, 12131–12134 | 29 U.S.C. § 794 | 28 C.F.R. Part 35
██████████████, ██████████████
██████████████ | ██████████████<mailto:██████████████>
________________________________
From: Bill NeSmith <██████████████>
Sent: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 6:37 PM
To: ██████ ███████ <██████████████>
Subject: Re: [External] Re: Response to May 11 ADA Position — Record Integrity, Evidence Route, and Coverage Preservation
I am available at 11.30 only.
William D. NeSmith, III | Deputy General Counsel
State Bar of Georgia
104 Marietta Street NW Suite 100 | Atlanta, GA 30303
404-527-8728 | ██████████████<mailto:██████████████>
________________________________
On May 12, 2026, at 3:41 PM, ██████ ███████ <██████████████> wrote:
[ADA status paragraph.]
Mr. NeSmith —
Please see the attached response to your May 11, 2026 email regarding Grievance No. ██████-█████, transmitted with full institutional cc list restored. The institutional forward to Bar President Twyman referenced in Section 10 was transmitted earlier today.
Read and delivery receipts requested. Acknowledgment of receipt requested within three business days. Substantive response requested on or before May 14, 2026, 17:00 ET.
Respectfully,
██████ ███████
Qualified Individual With a Disability
42 U.S.C. §§ 12131–12134 | 29 U.S.C. § 794 | 28 C.F.R. Part 35
██████████████, ██████████████
██████████████ | ██████████████
Attachment: NeSmith_Response_FINAL_v5_20260512.pdf
[Accessibility notice.]
<NeSmith_Response_FINAL_20260512.pdf>