Americans for the Enforcement Of Attorney Ethics Leo Stoller Executive Director P.O.Box 60645 Chicago, Il 60660 312-545-4554
Welcome to the website of Americans for the Enforcement of Attorney Ethics (AEAE) since 1974. A national group devoted to the strict enforcement of attorney ethics. AEAE maintains a national list of lawyers and law firms that AEAE cannot recommend. If you have any questions regarding any lawyer and/or law firm as to whether they are on the approved list of AEAE or the non-recommended list, you should join AEAE today to avail yourself of this valuable information. You are welcome to join AEAE by writing to AEAE Membership fee is $25.00 per year 7115 W. North Ave #272 Oak Park, Illinois 60302
In the event that you are involved in a legal proceeding before retaining the lawyer and/or law firm, you should contact AEAE to find out if that lawyer and/or law firm is listed on AEAE's non-recommended list of lawyers and law firms to save yourself potential malpractice action and/or having to file a disciplinary complaint against a lawyer for violating your rights.
HOW TO FILE AN ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY COMPLAINT
If you feel that your own lawyer has injured you by his professional misconduct in handling your case, you have several options to cure your injury or be made whole again. First you should consult with an attorney and see if your lawyer may be subject to a legal malpractice lawsuit for his negligence in handling your case. Secondly, you can file a professional disciplinary complaint against your lawyer if you feel that he may have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct.
What are the Rules of Professional Conduct?
Unlike many other professions lawyers in each state in the US are held to an ethical code, which is called either the Code of Professional Conduct and/or the Rules of Professional Conduct. These rules have been established in many instances by the American Bar Association and adopted by the various state supreme courts to govern the ethical conduct of the lawyers in each state.
Step One You must call your local bar association and request a copy of your state's Attorney Rules of Professional Conduct and find out where to file your attorney disciplinary complaint in your state. Read this short booklet of rules. Identify the rules that you believe that your attorney may have violated.
Step two Go to your local law library and request from them copies of attorney ethical complaints that your local disciplinary commission prosecuted. Read the official complaints that were initiated by the disciplinary commission. Draft your complaint in the same form, copying the case caption format and incorporating similar language in your complaint as it relates to the specific charges against your lawyer.
Remember that over 98% of the attorney disciplinary complaints filed (by complainants like yourself) with the state disciplinary commission, end up in the waste paper basket because they were either "hand" written and they failed to properly identify the Ethical Rules that your attorney violated and they did not contain any evidence.
You must remember that the Attorney Disciplinary Commission lawyers look for very specific ethical wrongs that are written in a manner that will communicate these ethical allegations to them. If you believe, that for one instance, these Attorney Disciplinary Commissions are there to offer you any help in drafting your complaint or seeing that ethical justice is received by you, think again. Most of these Attorney Disciplinary Commissions are set up by lawyers, to discipline lawyers, and that is like setting a "Fox" up to guard the chickens! Good luck!
Nonetheless, AEAE believes that the chances that your complaint will ever be fully heard by a disciplinary commission will be enhanced if you write it like a professional attorney disciplinary complaint. "I can't do that; I'm not a lawyer!" Then remain a victim, because our system of legal justice in this country has no mercy for the uninformed, lazy, uneducated and those who are unwilling to learn...Just look at the individuals who today sit on the death rolls of each state, the most uneducated, unknowledgeable and insane people in the country. Sure many of them belong their, but many don't, and end up on death role because of ignorance... Remember "our legal system of justice has no mercy for the uniformed and lazy victims..."
After you write your attorney disciplinary complaint, serve it on the your state disciplinary commission and a copy on the lawyer that you are complaining to. Do not attempt to publish your attorney disciplinary complaint; do not go to the press. Many state Supreme Courts give complainant's releases from being sued by your attorney for libel or slander, if you do not go public with your complaint. If your state disciplinary commission votes a formal complaint, then your complaint will be made public.
Remember, filing your disciplinary complaint against your lawyer is not a malpractice complaint. Generally you will not receive any damage award in the event that your lawyer is disciplined, sanctioned or disbarred by the state disciplinary board.
You are filing a disciplinary complaint because you feel that your lawyer violated some rules of the Code of Professional Conduct and you want the state disciplinary commission to hold your lawyer accountable for these violations. That is what a disciplinary complaint is all about. AEAE encourages victims of Professional Attorney misconduct to file these complaints. It's the only system that we have to hold attorneys ethically accountable.
Most attorneys are ethical, only a small percentage of lawyers are "bad" apples. But those bad attorneys do a great deal of harm to unsuspecting clients. For example, you are going through a divorce, your lawyer talks you into having him represent you and your wife (a conflict of interest) because this will save you money. Your lawyer starts having sex with your wife (an ethical violation) and ends up giving her everything that you own (attorney ethical violation) instead of looking out for your interests. This all too familiar attorney ethical violation sin aero is replete with attorney ethics violations. If properly plead in an attorney disciplinary complaint, it could lead to your attorney being disbarred! If not properly plead; your attorney is free to continue to victimize his other clients in a similar manner over and over again!
Look in your local state attorney Rules of Professional Conduct and see if you can identify what ethical rules that the attorney in the above illustration may have violated.
If you have a problem with the state Disciplinary Commission ignoring your Attorney Disciplinary Complaint because it may be against a high profile lawyer friendly to the members of the Disciplinary Commission, you can file a Mandamus Action directly with your state Supreme Court.
If your state Supreme Court ignores you and denies your Mandamus Petition, you have a right to appeal it directly to the US Supreme Court. If the US Supreme Court denies your appeal, then you have done everything within the legal system to seek relief. You can now go to your Congressman or US Senator and explain to them what you have done and how you feel the system has failed you. If they do nothing to help you, you can run for Congress or the Senate in order to change the laws. Lastly, you have the First Amendment right of free speech and you can write a book to expose the pandemic legal corruption that exists within your state.
There is a lot that you can to do to seek relief from your victimization by your own attorney, but it all starts with the first step! Filing the Attorney Disciplinary Complaint with your state Attorney Disciplinary Commission...Do it now...Do it today!
Remember we all have the justice system, the kind of lawyers, and judges that we deserve. If you have been wronged by a lawyer and/or judge and you fail to take the time to file the appropriate state disciplinary complaint(s) because it's too hard, or it takes too much time, don't complain the next time that you hear about another "bad" lawyer who stiffs another client, or you again, while having sex with your next wife!
Now go do the right thing! Join AEAE today and help us to carry on this crusade against corrupt attorneys.
Disclaimer The Americans for the Enforcement of Attorney Ethics (AEAE) is an association that advocates the strict enforcement of attorney ethics; it is not a law firm. AEAE gives procedural advice only for filing attorney disciplinary complaints. AEAE, upon review, may file on behalf of a Plaintiff, a Friend of the Court Brief in support of a complaint that involves issues of attorney misconduct. AEAE maintains a database of lawyers and law firms that have been disciplined and/or charged with disciplinary complaints. The mere fact that AEAE makes available to members information on its said database regarding non-recommended lawyers, and just because a law firm and/or lawyer may not appear on AEAE's non-recommended list, it should not be viewed by anyone as a recommendation by AEAE of that lawyer and/or law firm. In the event that a member requests information regarding any lawyer from AEAE, that information should not be viewed by that member as endorsement by AEAE. Opinions expressed here are those of AEAE. the fact that any attorney or lawfirm is not recomended does not mean that they are not a good firm only that AEAE would not recomend them or hire them.
Leo Stoller E.D. - Leo Stoller is the Executive Director of the Americans for the Enforcement of Attorney Ethics. The press has dubbed Leo Stoller "the Ralph Nader" of Attorney Discipline. Leo Stoller has appeared on national television and on numerous talk radio shows in support of the strict enforcement of attorney ethics. Leo Stoller is also an Expert Witness on issues that involve Trademarks, Trademark Damages, and Trademark Appraisals etc. email Stoller at [email protected]
