Access To Disciplinary Information

The National Law Journal has an article on a subject near and dear to my heart– the difficulty in locating public information concerning bar discipline on the web pages of many state bars. The best jurisdiction, in my opinion, is Illinois, which posts the charges and reports within days. I have expressed my concern in earlier posts about web access in D.C., where the charges and hearing committee reports are concealed from public view. One consequence is that you can check a lawyer’s disciplinary history on line after the filing of public charges and the hearing report and not find the truth. Let’s hope this piece generates a reaction that serves the public interest. (Mike Frisch)