Local bars smooth over some attorney-client clashes
By Amy Yarbrough
Staff Writer
When a client thinks their lawyer isn't being attentive
enough, they often do not know what to do. They might end up calling the State
Bar. But in a few California counties, unique programs are giving clients a
locally based option to voice their concerns and resolve disputes before they
warrant State Bar discipline.
For more than 25 years, the Orange County Bar Association
has been running its client relations committee, a group of 30 volunteer
lawyers who review and attempt to resolve client gripes about attorneys. The
Contra Costa County Bar Association also has a client relations committee,
started about 10 years ago.
Cameron M. Smith, co-chair of the Orange County
committee, said some of the disputes his group looks into stem from the fact
that a client simply doesn't understand the rules. Those end up getting
resolved with just a phone call. More serious allegations involving possible
misconduct are reported to the State Bar.
“We see our role not only to protect the public and serve
our clients but we also see we have an important role in improving
communication between the lawyers and clients,” Smith said.
Robert Hawley, deputy executive director of the State
Bar, said years ago just about every county bar association had a client grievance
committee or some version of one. This was before the State Bar’s attorney
discipline system was enhanced through legislative reforms to serve as a fully
staffed regulatory disciplinary agency for licensed attorneys. Prior to the late
1980’s, attorney discipline in California was largely run by attorney
volunteers, often at the local county bar level. Dissatisfaction with the informality
of that process resulted in legislative reforms to the discipline system that
professionalized the process, created the full time State Bar Court and
established the State Bar’s discipline system as we know it today. That model
mirrors state licensing and disciplinary boards for other professionals.
Hawley emphasized that attorney misconduct issues need to
reach the State Bar if discipline is appropriate. Only the State Bar, acting as
the administrative arm of the Supreme Court, can impose discipline. But there
is still an important role for local bars – resolving grievances that do not warrant
discipline.
“There's a huge benefit in local attorneys working with
their peers in the county to address client dissatisfactions that do not rise
to a disciplinary level,” he said. “Local citizens should be able to get help
from the local bar to assist whenever they are frustrated with an attorney in
the county. The State Bar and the formal discipline system should be a last
resort in the perfect world. Unfortunately, local bar resources limit the
ability of local bars to do as much as they would like in this area. Orange County
is a good example of a program that works well for clients, attorneys and the bar.”
Typically, when a concern is brought to the Orange County bar's grievance committee, it’s reviewed by staff first. If the attorney
has a history of discipline or the matter clearly presents a violation of
disciplinary authorities, the local bar forwards it straight to the State Bar,
Smith said. If not, committee volunteers give both client
and attorney the chance to be heard. Smith and committee co-chair William Zulch
review the matters and either decide to close them or send them to the
committee's local volunteer attorney investigators to develop a record.
Ultimately, the committee votes on the case as developed, with the name of the
attorney removed at this stage, deciding whether to forward the matter to the
State Bar. In cases where a grievance does not seem to warrant discipline, the
committee may try to resolve the dispute with more communications to the client
and attorney involved.
Of the roughly 60 cases filed with the Orange County Bar Association
each year, half are assigned for investigation, and 10 to 15 are referred
to the State Bar. According to Zulch, the vast majority of the complaints deal
with family law matters, though there has been an influx of allegations
involving loan modification fraud in the past few years.
“They run the gamut. You have some lawyers out there who,
at the extreme, are using their power and influence to actually extort sexual
favors from their clients. Or at least try to,” Zulch said. “Those are very
clear. They should be reported to the State Bar.”
Malcolm Sher, who launched Contra Costa County's client
relations committee after witnessing the success of a program operated by the
Alameda County Bar Association, said his group averages eight cases a year but
sometimes gets as many as 14. Members of his committee have mediation training
or are on the bar's mediation panel. Cases are assigned based on the committee
member's expertise.
“Clients generally don't know what to do when their
lawyer and they are not communicating,” Sher said. “It provides a confidential
opportunity for one of our members who doesn't have a dog in the race so to
speak, to talk with the lawyer, talk with the client.”
Both Sher and Smith agreed that sometimes what clients
want most is the opportunity to be heard.
“The lawyers appreciate it,” Smith added. “I think it's a
service we think positively about. We think it works.”
Hawley agreed: “This is a service to clients and to the
profession at the local level. These bar associations are to be commended for
their commitment to maintaining high standards of attorney performance in their
communities.”