• A Common Mistake In Responding To State Bar Disciplinary Investigation Letters (The Irrelevant Boilerplate)

A Bar investigation letter will ordinarily have a paragraph stating the allegations, and, following it will be a list of items the Bar requests that you provide.  Attorneys will often read the allegations, and then only respond to the list of requests.  That is a mistake.  Read the letter carefully. The Bar will be asking for a narrative statement in response to the allegations, and ONLY THEN is the attorney supposed to respond to the numbered items at the end of the letter.

A problem (not a "challenge") is that often the list of requested items --- because the list is generally lazy boilerplate --- will have little relevance to the specific issues of the actual investigation.

Is the attorney nevertheless required to waste a great deal of time gathering and preparing responses to those irrelevant requests?  No. The attorney may respond and provide material that is actually relevant, and, if the Bar for some reason insists upon the "missing" responses, the matter is subject to discussion and a unilateral Bar demand.