how to find out if an attorney has been disbarred

by Sally Stiedemann 6 min read

You can look at your state’s bar association website and search for that attorney by name or license number. Using Colorado as an example, the state Supreme Court provides a simple attorney search webpage that allows users to search by name or bar number. Results shows whether the attorney is active, inactive, suspended or disbarred.

To find out whether an attorney has been disciplined, you must first determine the state or states in which an attorney is licensed, and then go to the website for the bar association for that state. The American Bar Association maintains an online listing of each state's lawyer disciplinary agency.

Full Answer

What does it take to get an attorney disbarred?

To find out whether an attorney has been disciplined, you must first determine the state or states in which an attorney is licensed, and then go to the website for the bar association for that state. The American Bar Association maintains an online listing of each state’s lawyer disciplinary agency. You can then search for that attorney’s name in the state bar’s record to see whether …

Is it easy for a lawyer to get disbarred?

Take your question as written here—How can I find out if a lawyer has been disbarred—, add the sate in which he practices, use that as a search term in Google and follow the links for attorney registration and license information. Most US states are completely on line

How do I get a lawyer disbarred?

Jul 07, 2010 · Had an e-mail this morning from someone trying to find out whether an attorney had ever been disbarred or disciplined. I knew that most states, including mine, now publish this information on the Web. But finding it isn’t always easy. Thus, I was happy to come across this FindLaw page, Researching Attorney Discipline. It provides links to the official lawyer look-up …

What ways can a lawyer get disbarred?

Jan 15, 2020 · An important step in evaluating whether an attorney is right for you is investigating whether he or she has ever been disciplined. All states have a disciplinary organization that closely monitors attorneys. If a complaint is made against an attorney, the state's organization will investigate the claim and determine whether or not the attorney has violated any ethical …

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What should I do when choosing an attorney?

It’s always awkward to ask, “So, when’s the last time you were suspended from practice?”

Look up the attorney on the state bar association website

Each state has its own bar association that grants licenses to attorneys. These associations monitor and discipline lawyers, suspending or disbarring those who violate the code of ethics for that specific state.

Google online reviews and complaints

When picking an attorney for any matter, at the very least you should search for reviews online and see what others have said.

List of State Lawyer Licensing Databases

How do you check to see if an attorney has a valid bar license to practice law in a given state?

How to Search for an Attorney by Speciality

All of these directories allow you to search for the attorney by name.

How to Find Disciplinary Records Online

Use the links below to select the state where the attorney practices law. Then go to the state bar site to search the attorney's name or bar number. On many of these directories, you can see if the license has ever been inactive or if the attorney was disciplined for misconduct.

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