Iowa Bar Association

Iowa Ethics Opinions
Standards for Professional Conduct (pdf)
Complaint Form (pdf)

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THE GRIEVANCE SYSTEM

I. A lawyer who receives notice of a complaint filed with the Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct should ordinarily seek advice before responding.

II. The lawyer should make a timely, accurate and complete response within the time provided or seek and obtain an extension of time within which to do so.

III. If the complaint is without merit, the lawyer should attempt at each stage of the process to respond in a way that demonstrates the lack of merit.

IV. Ethics Administrator Norman Bastemeyer works with the Supreme Court board.

V. Communications prior to the filing of a formal complaint before the Grievance Commission are with the ethics administrator.

VI. Communications when a decision has been made to refer a case for for­mal complaint before the Grievance Commission are with ethics counsel.

VII. Charles Harrington and David Grace are the ethics counsel.

VIII. Communications once a complaint has been filed are with ethics counsel.

IX. Although there is no “plea bargaining” in the disciplinary process, it is possible to provide information to the ethics administrator or ethics counsel which may help bring about an acceptable resolution of a complaint.

X. Once a formal complaint is filed , the proceeding is much like an ordinary civil action involving extraordinary and sensitive issues where the ”judges of the facts” are fellow members of the bar and a lay representative.

XI. Any decision by the grievance panel which involves a recommendation for a reprimand, suspension, revo­cation is subject to automatic review by the Supreme Court, whether an appeal is taken or not.

XII. Upon review by the Supreme Court, even when an appeal is not taken, an appellate decision is written and published.

XIII. Revocations are ordinarily final.

This article is reprinted with the express permission of The Iowa State Bar Association. It first was published in The Iowa Lawyer , the ISBA’s monthly journal, Volume 60 Number 2, February 2000.

Mark McCormick, the author, is a former justice of the Iowa Supreme Court who now practices with Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach & Flynn, A Professional Corporation, Des Moines, Iowa.

This article may be copied from this website and reproduced with the permission of The Iowa State Bar Association as long as it is credited exactly as above.