Attorney Disciplinary Procedures

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at possible reforms to improve attorney disciplinary procedures. The paper points out that the American Bar Association has a code of professional responsibility by which attorneys must abide. Some of the general principles this code addresses are individual justice, distributive justice, truthfulness, and trust worthiness. The paper concludes that actively becoming aware of unethical procedures in law, along with participation of the public in the awareness, can help resolve some of the problems.

From the Paper:

"One particular unethical conduct that states bars will not tolerate include lawyers who do not pay child support. In the Atlanta Journal Constitution it was reported in May of 2005 an attorney was ordered to pay $29,100 in monthly child support. This case marked the highest child support judgment ever issued to date for Georgia (Cook). Under OCGA 1968-28 the lawyer's license to practice law can be suspended. Once the attorney has met requirements of Bar Rule 1-209, their suspension will be revoked (Unknown 1). In this particular case, the attorney had "estimated stakes in his law firm to be worth over $20 million" and the courts made sure he paid every penny of child support to his children."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bowers, Andy. "No Discipline System for Lawyers in CA" Morning Edition. National Public Radio on the web. 3 July 2005. 22 July 1998. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1024994>.
• Braswell, Michael C. and Belinda R. McCarthy, Bernard J. McCarthy Justice. Crime & Ethics 4th Edition. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Co. 2002
• Cook. Rhonda. "Attorney ordered to pay $29,100 monthly child support" Editorial. The Atlanta Journal Constitution on the web. 3 July 2005. 6 May 2005. < http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0505/06gary.html>.
• Hulsey, Lynda. "Consumers Assistance Program" gabar.org on the web. 2 July 2005. 2005 < http://www.gabar.org/programs/consumer_assistance_program/ >.
• McCaghy, Charles H. Deviant Behavior 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company. 1985.

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