Reporting from the Virginia State Bar’s Office of Bar Counsel indicates general consistency in the overall number of complaints made against lawyers and the corresponding levels of discipline.
A summary of reporting follows:
| |
Fiscal Year 2019
(July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019)
|
Fiscal Year 2020
(July 1, 2019-June 30, 2020)
|
| Number of Complaints |
3,123 |
3,091 |
| Percentage of Complaints as to Total of Active Lawyers |
9.5%
(32,870 lawyers)
|
9.8%
(31,693 lawyers)
|
| Percentage Screened Out in Early Review |
84%
(2,626 cases)
|
79%
(2,440 cases)
|
| Cases Dismissed |
357 |
473 |
| Lawyers Receiving Private Discipline |
42 |
54 |
| Lawyers Receiving Public Discipline |
67 |
74 |
| Suspensions |
20 |
20 |
| Revocations (including consent/agreement) |
17 |
27 (unconfirmed)
(bar counsel reports 34)
|
Drilling down into the figures further, indicates that the dismissal of cases following the initial screening is most likely (and not surprising) early in the disciplinary process following additional explanation/investigation of the underlying circumstances giving rise to the complaint:
| Cases Dismissed By: |
Fiscal Year 2019 |
Fiscal Year 2020 |
| Bar Counsel |
250 |
331 |
| Disciplinary Subcommittee |
103 |
125 |
| District Committee |
1 |
0 |
| Disciplinary Board |
2 |
12 (including “retirements with dignity”) |
| Three-Judge Panel/Circuit Court |
1 |
5 |
