"Legal ethics" are rules that guide how lawyers should behave. When a lawyer breaks these rules, it can harm their clients and the public. To handle this, the NJ Supreme Court has a system to discipline lawyers who don't follow these rules. This article explains how the system works and how you can start the process if you have a problem with a lawyer.

Rules for Lawyers

Lawyers must follow the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (RPCs), court decisions, and other legal guidelines. The RPCs are the basic rules for lawyers and can be found on the NJ Courts website. While some rules are easy to understand, others might need a lawyer to explain them in the context of your case.

Disciplinary System for Lawyers

The NJ Supreme Court's disciplinary system aims to protect the public from bad lawyers. It includes:

• Checking, investigating, and judging cases where lawyers might have broken the rules
• Allowing lawyers to appeal if they are found guilty
• Allowing people to appeal if their complaints against lawyers are dismissed
• Final decisions and punishments for rule-breaking lawyers

The Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE) oversees this system. You can contact them at (609) 403-7800 or visit their website. The site also lists if a lawyer has been disciplined before, which can help you decide if you want to hire them.

How To File an Ethics Complaint

A grievance is a formal complaint against a lawyer for unethical behavior. Anyone can file one. The person filing is called the "grievant," and the lawyer is the "respondent." Complaints must be written on an Attorney Ethics Grievance Form. This form asks for detailed information, including facts, witnesses, dates, and supporting documents.

Not every disagreement with a lawyer is an ethics violation. Simple mistakes, personality differences, or bad outcomes aren't necessarily against the rules. The rules help you decide if your complaint is worth filing. If you don't understand something in the rules, you can refer to the definitions list in Rule 1:20 on the NJ Courts website.

People who file complaints and witnesses in ethics cases are protected from lawsuits for their statements. This means you can't be sued for filing a grievance or testifying.

What happens after filing a grievance?

Grievances go to a District Ethics Committee (DEC), which includes lawyers and non-lawyers in your area. They investigate complaints, hold hearings, and suggest punishments or dismissals. Complaints are sent to the district where the lawyer's main office is. Contact information for DECs is on the NJ Courts website, or you can call 1-800-406-8594.

Some matters, like fee disputes or advertising issues, aren't handled by DECs. Other committees deal with these. Rule 1:20 on the NJ Courts website lists these matters.

After Filing a Grievance

A DEC secretary reviews the grievance to see if it describes unethical behavior. If not, the grievance is dismissed, and you can't appeal. If it does, the grievance is "docketed" for investigation.

The respondent must respond in writing, and the grievant gets a summary of this response and can comment. Both sides might be interviewed, and the investigator writes a report with facts and recommendations. The DEC chairperson then decides if there's enough proof of unethical conduct. If not, the grievance is dismissed, but you can appeal. If there is proof, the chairperson decides if the conduct is minor or serious.

Minor unethical conduct leads to low-level discipline, with conditions the lawyer must meet to fix the behavior. If serious, formal charges are filed, leading to a hearing and possible punishment by the NJ Supreme Court.

This information last reviewed: Oct 30, 2024