Wyoming State Bar - April 4, 2006
CHEYENNE - The Wyoming State Bar today announced that its attorney disciplinary system has been ranked 15th in the nation - a dramatic increase from its 2002 status of 42nd.
HALT, a non-profit organization for legal reform, released the 2006 Lawyer Discipline Report Card, which issues grades to disciplinary systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than half the states received grades below C. No state earned an A. Wyoming received a C.
"Considering the highest ranking given was a B-, and only three states received that, Wyoming did remarkably well," said Becky Lewis, Bar Counsel for the Wyoming State Bar.
According to the report, the climb from 42nd to 15th came primarily because the Wyoming State Bar is now processing complaints more efficiently than it did four years ago and because the disciplinary body adopted more evenhanded procedures.
HALT praised Wyoming for having one of the fastest discipline systems in the nation, taking only three months to bring formal charges and impose sanctions after a complaint is filed. "Wyoming's dedication to efficiency should serve as a model for other states," stated HALT Associate Counsel Suzanne M. Blonder.
Wyoming also received high marks for being one of the only states that does not prohibit victims from speaking publicly about disciplinary matters. In most jurisdictions, a complainant may not disclose information about an attorney ethics case until the accused attorney has been publicly sanctioned.
"Overall, we're pleased with the ranking," said Lewis. "We have worked hard over the last four years to steadily improve our system, and it's nice to get the recognition for it."
The report card evaluates six areas of the discipline process: Adequacy of Discipline Imposed; Publicity and Responsiveness; Openness of the Process; Fairness of Disciplinary Procedures; Public Participation; and Promptness.
The Bar received a "D" for Publicity and Responsiveness. According to HALT, the Wyoming Board of Professional Responsibility, the disciplinary body, does not advertise its services to the public. The Bar disagrees. "We launched a new website last year and specifically pulled information out to our front page that dealt with lawyer complaints," said Sharon Wilkinson, Communications Director for the Bar. "We wanted to make sure citizens knew there was action they could take if they had been wronged by their lawyer." The State Bar staff is also very informative and accommodating when citizens call to discuss grievances.
The Bar also received a low mark for Openness of the Process. While hearings are not open to the public, as HALT thinks they should be, any grievant may attend a lawyer disciplinary hearing. Public disciplinary actions are also disseminated to all Wyoming media outlets, posted on the Bar's website, and published in the Wyoming Lawyer magazine. "We feel it is our duty to inform the public when an attorney has been publicly disciplined, suspended, or disbarred," said Lewis.
HALT also believes that 90% of all grievances should be fully investigated and at least 33% of all investigated cases should result in a public sanction. The Bar again disagrees. "Instead of getting wrapped up in quotas, we take pride in only investigating those cases we feel merit a full investigation," said Lewis. "Keep in mind, complaints have been filed because a lawyer didn't return a client's phone call immediately."
Anyone seeking more information on Wyoming's current disciplinary process should visit www.wyomingbar.org or call the Wyoming State Bar at (307) 632-9061.
Founded in 1978, HALT is the oldest and largest consumer legal reform group in the United States with 50,000 members. A copy of each state's 2006 Lawyer Discipline Report Card, a national comparison chart and other information about lawyer accountability is available at www.halt.org.
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