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Case For Less Secrecy In Lawyer Discipline, The, Leslie Levin

Faculty Articles and Papers

This article looks at the problems created by a lawyer discipline process that continues to be conducted mostly in secret. The vast majority of the 125,000 discipline complaints received annually are disposed of without an opportunity for the public to observe the process or the outcome of complaints. Heavy reliance on confidential dispositions - either through private sanctions or diversion programs - keeps most information about lawyer misconduct a secret from the public. As a result, clients are often injured by lawyers who have previously engaged in misconduct, little is known about the extent of recidivism among disciplined lawyers, and …