Exploring Lawyer Misconduct: An Examination of the Self-Regulation Process

• In Event: White-Collar Crime at 75: Perspectives on Individual Offending

Abstract

Certain white-collar professions are held in high esteem but sometimes persons in privileged positions engage in misconduct. Unfortunately, very little is known about the correlates associated with professional misconduct and even less is known about the sanctioning process. In the United States, attorneys are licensed by state bars and therefore subject to the state bar rules regulating their professional conduct. State bar disciplinary systems are designed to sanction attorneys who violate the rules of professional conduct, deter other lawyers from engaging in similar misconduct, and protect the public. We examine 217 complaints filed in the year 2002 with the Florida Bar, alleging attorney misconduct and evaluate the factors which influence whether the complaint continued through, or was discarded at, each stage of the self-regulated grievance process.

Authors

• Nicole Leeper Piquero, University of Texas at Dallas

• Michele Bisaccia Meitl, University of Texas at Dallas

• Eve M. Brank, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Jennifer L. Woolard, Georgetown University

• Lonn Lanza-Kaduce, University of Florida

• Alex Piquero, University of Texas at Dallas