What Up With Bar Counsel Name Change?

In June 2014, I posted a comment about a proposal to change the name of the District of Columbia Office of Bar Counsel to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

On the various reasons put forth in support of the change by the Bar’s Board of Governors

If you want to avoid confusion, don’t change the name that an Office has been known by for the past 42 years.

It is also well known and made clear to whoever calls Bar Counsel that the office  does not provide ethical advice. That has been so since the 1980s. Any calls are simply referred to the Bar’s Ethics Counsel. Reason #2 is entirely specious. — a solution without a problem.

But it is the third justification that really grabs me –they want to it make it easier to sue the Bar. That doesn’t even pass a laugh test.

I’m not sure what is behind this truly awful idea, but it surely is not for the reasons given by the Board of Governors.

It appears that the Court of Appeals has taken no action to implement this change. Hopefully, that means that the proposal has been placed in the appropriate receptacle. (Mike Frisch)