How to File a Bar Complaint Against Your Attorney (And When You Should)

You've tried everything. You've called. You've emailed. You've sent certified letters. And your attorney still won't return your calls, hasn't done any work on your case, and your court date is approaching fast.

Now you're Googling "how to file a bar complaint."

Before you do, you should know: the bar complaint process is real, it matters, and it can get results — but it's not what most people think it is. Here's the honest guide.

What a Bar Complaint Actually Is

Every state has a disciplinary body (usually part of the state bar association) that regulates attorney conduct. When an attorney violates their ethical obligations, anyone can file a complaint with this body.

The state bar investigates the complaint and can take action ranging from a private reprimand to disbarment (revoking the attorney's license to practice).

What the bar CAN do:

Investigate your complaint
Require the attorney to respond
Issue a private or public reprimand
Suspend the attorney's license
Disbar the attorney
Order the attorney to take ethics courses

What the bar CANNOT do:

Get your money back
Change the outcome of your case
Award you damages
Force your attorney to do specific work

That last point is important. A bar complaint is about professional discipline — not about fixing your individual case. For that, you need a different attorney, a malpractice claim, or both.

When You Should File a Bar Complaint

Clear grounds for a complaint:

Abandonment: Your attorney has stopped communicating entirely and is not doing any work on your case
Missed deadlines that harmed your case: A filing deadline passed and your rights were lost
Lying to you: Your attorney told you they filed something they didn't, or misrepresented the status of your case
Commingling funds: Your retainer money was used for the attorney's personal expenses
Conflicts of interest: Your attorney also represents someone with opposing interests
Criminal conduct: Your attorney did something illegal in handling your case

Weaker grounds (but still worth documenting):

Poor communication: Slow to return calls, but eventually does
Disagreement on strategy: You want to go to trial, they recommend a plea
Bad outcome: You lost — but the attorney did their job
Personality conflicts: You don't like them, but they're competent

The bar is looking for ethical violations, not personality problems or strategic disagreements.

How to File

Step 1: Find your state bar's complaint process

Search "[your state] bar complaint" or "[your state] attorney discipline." Every state bar has an online form or downloadable complaint form.

Common links:

Florida: floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/filing-a-complaint/
California: calbar.ca.gov/attorneys/lawyerregulation/filinga-complaint
Texas: texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Lawyer_Referral_Service
New York: nycourts.gov/courts/ad1/committees&programs/DDC/

Step 2: Gather your documentation

Before filing, organize:

Your retainer agreement (the contract you signed)
All communication records — emails, letters, call logs
Court docket printout — showing what has (and hasn't) been filed
Timeline of events — when you hired them, when things went wrong
Evidence of harm — what specific deadline was missed, what right was lost

Step 3: Write a clear, factual complaint

The bar receives thousands of complaints. The ones that get attention are:

Specific: "My attorney missed the suppression motion deadline on March 15, 2025" — not "my attorney is bad"
Factual: Stick to what happened, not how you feel about it
Documented: Attach evidence for every claim
Organized: Chronological timeline with dates

Step 4: Submit and wait

The bar will:

Review your complaint for jurisdiction and substance
Send it to the attorney for response (this is important — the attorney MUST respond)
Investigate if warranted
Make a determination

Timeline: This process takes months. Sometimes 6-12+ months. The bar is not a quick fix.

What Actually Happens After You File

The attorney is notified

This alone can create change. Many attorneys who receive a bar complaint suddenly become very responsive. Not because they care more — because they're now worried about their license.

This is not a bad thing. If a bar complaint is what it takes to get your attorney's attention, that tells you everything about their priorities.

Most complaints are dismissed

The honest truth: the majority of bar complaints result in no formal action. This is partly because many complaints lack substance, and partly because the bar gives attorneys significant benefit of the doubt.

However, even a dismissed complaint:

Creates a record (if future complaints are filed, patterns emerge)
Forces the attorney to respond in writing
Often leads to improved behavior

Serious complaints get real investigation

If your complaint involves clear ethical violations — lying, stealing, abandonment, missed deadlines with documentation — the bar will investigate seriously. Investigators may interview you, the attorney, and witnesses. They'll review court records and documents.

Alternatives to a Bar Complaint

Fee arbitration

If your issue is money — you paid a retainer and didn't get the work — many state bars offer fee arbitration programs. This is faster than a complaint and can actually get your money back.

Malpractice claim

If your attorney's negligence caused actual harm to your case (missed deadline led to suppressed motion, which could have resulted in dismissal), you may have a legal malpractice claim. This requires hiring another attorney to sue your first attorney.

Simply switch attorneys

Sometimes the best response is to fire your attorney, hire a new one, and move forward. A bar complaint is backwards-looking. A new attorney is forward-looking. Your case matters more than punishing the old attorney.

Should You File Before or After Switching Attorneys?

Switch first. File later.

Your immediate priority is your criminal case. Get a competent attorney working on it. Then, once your case is stabilized, file the bar complaint if warranted.

Filing a bar complaint while your case is still active with the same attorney can create an adversarial dynamic that makes things worse. Get out first, then report.

The Nuclear Option: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

If you've been convicted and your attorney's failures directly contributed to that conviction, you may have grounds for an "ineffective assistance of counsel" (IAC) claim. This is a constitutional challenge — under the Sixth Amendment, you have the right to effective counsel.

IAC requires proving:

Your attorney's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness
There's a reasonable probability that, but for the deficient performance, the result would have been different

This is a high bar. But it's real, and it's won cases.

Document everything now. Even if you don't file an IAC claim for years, the documentation you create today — call logs, unanswered emails, missed deadlines — becomes the evidence.

Before You File Anything

Consider getting someone to review your situation objectively. The challenge with evaluating your own attorney is that you're not a lawyer — you may not know what's normal, what's below standard, and what's genuinely harmful.

That's what we do. We look at your case, what your attorney has done (or hasn't), and help you understand where you stand — so you can make an informed decision about complaints, switching attorneys, or both.

This is legal information, not legal advice. We are not attorneys and do not provide legal representation. Bar complaint processes vary by state — check your state bar's website for specific procedures.