Who at the State Bar Opened My Emails
As of September 28, 2026, the mailboxes of State Bar of Georgia officials sent back 42 read receipts on my emails, and three of those officials never wrote me a reply.
| Official | Title | Read receipts (first to last) | Replies to me |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher P. Twyman | Immediate Past President (President during this record) | 14 (April 22, 2026 to September 15, 2026) | 0 |
| William D. NeSmith III | Deputy General Counsel | 15 (April 20, 2026 to September 19, 2026) | 5 |
| Andreea N. Morrison | Deputy General Counsel | 12 (April 20, 2026 to May 29, 2026) | 0 (one automatic reply) |
| Damon E. Elmore | Executive Director | 1 (September 15, 2026) | 0 |
| Russell D. Willard | General Counsel | 0 | 0 |
| Leigh Burgess | Assistant General Counsel | 0 | 2 |
| John J. Shiptenko | Senior Assistant General Counsel | 0 | 11, plus one automatic reply |
| Adrienne D. Nash | Grievance Counsel | 0 | 2 |
| Jeffrey W. DeLoach | Chair, State Disciplinary Board | 0 | 0 |
| Sandra Dixon | Director, Human Resources | 0 | 0 (one automatic reply) |
A read receipt shows a message was opened on that mailbox. It can be declined, and many mail programs never send one. Each receipt is counted once, even where my mailbox holds two copies of it. Replies count emails written to me; automatic replies are listed separately.
If You Are Next
Keep everything. If you file a grievance with the State Bar of Georgia, keep the original email. Keep the full header. Keep every attachment. Keep the automatic reply. Keep the read receipt. Keep the version of the rule that existed on the date you used it. I started doing that because I needed my own emails searchable.
My record says what happened to me, on dates I can prove. It does not tell me why. On June 30, six decision emails arrived in 11 minutes and 51 seconds. On September 14, I asked what written rule governed the four about the Bar’s own lawyers. As of September 28, 2026, I did not have the rule.
We are not alone. By its own 2024 to 2025 annual report, the State Bar of Georgia closed or dismissed 2,814 of 3,080 grievances at screening. Other people have said what happened to them, in public, in their own words. Read what others say about the State Bar of Georgia
Questions and Answers
Who decides a grievance against a lawyer who works for the State Bar of Georgia?
The State Bar of Georgia says every grievance is first reviewed by an attorney in its Office of the General Counsel. As of September 14, 2026, I found no published rule for a grievance about one of that office’s own lawyers. On June 30, 2026, Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair of the State Disciplinary Board, signed the dismissals of four such grievances.
What happened to the four grievances against State Bar of Georgia staff lawyers?
Jeffrey W. DeLoach dismissed all four on June 30, 2026, between 4:23 PM and 4:35 PM Eastern. Each letter said he found “no basis for this grievance to be forwarded to the State Bar Disciplinary Board for investigation”. The grievances were about William D. NeSmith III, Andreea N. Morrison, Leigh Burgess and John J. Shiptenko.
Did the State Bar use the same standard for its own lawyers and outside lawyers?
No. The same afternoon, Adrienne D. Nash, Grievance Counsel, signed two decisions about lawyers outside the Office of the General Counsel. Both stated a “clear and convincing evidence” standard and gave written reasons. Jeffrey W. DeLoach’s four letters about lawyers inside that office stated no standard of proof.
Is there a written State Bar rule for grievances against its own lawyers?
On September 14, 2026, a search of all 4,092 entries in the State Bar’s online handbook found none. That day the State Bar’s General Counsel, Russell D. Willard, and Executive Director, Damon E. Elmore, were asked for the rule. As of September 28, 2026, neither had answered.
Related proof
- Copies of the six June 30, 2026 letters
- Proof of Jeffrey W. DeLoach dismissing four grievances in under 12 minutes
- Proof of Jeffrey W. DeLoach clearing William D. NeSmith III in three sentences
- Proof of my September 14, 2026 question to Russell D. Willard and Damon E. Elmore
- Proof of my September 15, 2026 questions to Jeffrey W. DeLoach
- Proof of Leigh Burgess admitting the April 21, 2026 filing error
- How the State Bar of Georgia grievance process is supposed to work
People on this page
- Jeffrey W. DeLoach
- John J. Shiptenko
- William D. NeSmith III
- Andreea N. Morrison
- Leigh Burgess
- Adrienne D. Nash
- Russell D. Willard
- Damon E. Elmore
- Christopher P. Twyman
- Sandra Dixon
- James R. Westbury, Jr.
Corrections
Corrections: this record is built from documents I received. If any fact on this page is incomplete or inaccurate, identify the page, the sentence, and the supporting document, and I will review and correct the record.
Back to the State Bar record · All people in the record
Jeffrey W. DeLoach’s Four Georgia Bar Dismissal Letters Named No Standard. Two Others Did.
When the Lawyer Works for the Bar, There Is No Published Rule
On June 30 the State Bar of Georgia decided six of my grievances two ways. Outside lawyers got a stated standard. For its own lawyers, the published handbook has no rule at all.
On June 30, 2026, six decisions about me arrived in eleven minutes and fifty one seconds. The first left at 4:23:24 PM Eastern. The last left at 4:35:15 PM. All six came from the same mailbox, “Dismissal” <OGCNoReply@gabar.org>. A mailbox that does not take a reply.
Those cases had not been pending for the same amount of time. One had been open 158 days. One had been open 13. They all landed inside the same twelve minutes.
Two of the six concerned lawyers who do not work for the Bar. The Office of the General Counsel decided those. In the case involving James R. Westbury, Jr., Grievance Counsel Adrienne D. Nash wrote that I had “failed to satisfy the elements that would sustain a referral of this matter to the State Disciplinary Board”, named a “clear and convincing evidence” standard, and gave written reasons. In the reconsideration case, the same office gave written reasons and reached its conclusion “by clear and convincing evidence”. That case also had a response from the lawyer on file and a written invitation to rebut it.
I am not saying those were the correct standards. I asked the Bar that question on September 14. I am saying a standard was stated, and I could read it.
The other four concerned Andreea N. Morrison, William D. NeSmith III, Leigh Burgess, and John J. Shiptenko, all lawyers employed in the Office of the General Counsel. Those four were signed by Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair of the State Disciplinary Board, who does not work in that office.
None of the four names the standard he applied. None says whether the lawyer complained about was asked to respond. None says whether anything reached him beyond what I sent. None says whether the full State Disciplinary Board reviewed the dismissal, which is what Rule 4-203(4) requires of a duty delegated to the Chair.
Two tracks, one afternoon
| Lawyers outside the office | Lawyers inside the office | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decided | Office of the General Counsel | Jeffrey W. DeLoach, Chair, State Disciplinary Board |
| Standard stated | Yes, in both | None stated in any of the four |
| Written reasons | Yes | One sentence, after counting the pages |
| Whether the lawyer was asked to respond | The reconsideration record shows a response from the lawyer and a written invitation to rebut it | The four letters do not say whether any accused lawyer was asked |
| Decision maker named to me before the decision | The office was identified | I was told only that “a member of the State Disciplinary Board” would review |
| How it arrived | Office of the General Counsel no reply address, accused lawyer copied | Office of the General Counsel no reply address, accused lawyer copied |
Back to Part 1: Jeffrey W. DeLoach Cleared 4 of the Georgia Bar's Own Lawyers