Bar Counsel / Attorney Grievance Commission

What Kind of Attorney Do You Need When the Bar Counsel Opens an Investigation?

April 28, 2022

Receiving a disciplinary grievance complaint can be overwhelming and shocking. However, it is imperative that you take necessary action, including seeking legal counsel. The most important criteria for selecting an attorney to represent you should be experience. Simply put, there is no substitute for experience.  There are many excellent attorneys in Maryland, Virginia, and the…

Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board Finds Clear and Convincing Evidence of a Virginia Lawyer’s Multiple Violations of Rule 1.15 of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct, Among Other Violations, and Issues Sanction of Two-Month Suspension with Terms Due to “Substantial Mitigating Factors.”

July 21, 2021

Overview  On February 22, 2021, the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board (“the Board”) suspended Jonathan Preston Fisher, Esq. from the practice of law for sixty (60) days effective February 1, 2021, with other conditions. The hearing was held on January 22, 2021.  Mr. Fisher is a DUI lawyer based in Blacksburg, Virginia and was admitted…

Responding To The Attorney Grievance Commission

July 14, 2021

Notwithstanding the Pandemic, as well as the associated closures of Courts and the slowdown of the judicial process, the attorney disciplinary system continues to work at full throttle.  It would appear that during the Pandemic people have much more time to go exploring on their computers and consequently, complaints about lawyers are being made with…

Unauthorized Practice of Law by Paralegals and Other Support Staff

June 17, 2021

Most attorneys have long known, at least in a general way, that law clerks, legal assistants, secretaries and paralegals may not ethically “practice law.”  The difficulty for many attorneys, however, is determining what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law, as opposed to the proper and ethical function various members of the support staff may perform.…

Lawyers Must Exercise Caution in Responding to Online Criticism to Ensure Strict Adherence to Confidentiality Obligations

March 24, 2021

As with all industries facing increasingly vocal consumers enabled by numerous online outlets to comment on products and services, lawyers regularly find themselves targets of negative reviews or other online criticism.  However, lawyers are uniquely constrained in their ability to respond to such criticism by applicable ethical rules.  The American Bar Association (“ABA”) recently opined…

An Overview of Legal Malpractice in the District of Columbia

March 15, 2021

The District of Columbia is a generally favorable jurisdiction when it comes to defending legal malpractice claims at the motions stage. According to a significant D.C. Court of Appeals opinion from March 20, 2009, when lawyers make tactical mistakes, they should not be held liable if they acted in good faith. Where an attorney makes…

Eccleston and Wolf attorney, Stacey Moffet, presents with Bar Counsel on sexual harassment and related claims in the law firm setting.

June 19, 2018

On May 4, 2018, Stacey Moffet, along with Bar Counsel, Lydia Lawless, were presenters at the Bar Association of Montgomery County, Maryland’s 124th Annual Meeting & Law Day Celebration on “Sexual Harassment: Ethical Implications and Law Firm Practices.”  The presentation addressed the ethical implications of sexual harassment and related claims in the law firm setting…

Oh No! A Letter from Bar Counsel…

February 23, 2017

What To Do If You Receive a Letter from Bar Counsel According to its Annual Report, the Attorney Grievance Commission sends out roughly 2,000 complaint letters each year. Approximately 75% of these initial inquiry letters are dismissed after receiving a well reasoned response. All too often however, matters that might have been promptly resolved with…