To file a complaint against an attorney in Arkansas, complete the official grievance form issued by the Arkansas Supreme Court’s Office of Professional Conduct and send it by mail, email, or fax to the office in Little Rock.1Supreme Court of Arkansas – Office of Professional Conduct. Grievance Form Against Attorney The office enforces the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct and can discipline lawyers who violate them, up to and including disbarment.2Arkansas Judiciary. Arkansas Committee on Professional Conduct Before you start, it helps to know what the process is designed to accomplish and what it isn’t.
What a Complaint Can and Cannot Accomplish
The disciplinary system exists to hold attorneys accountable for ethical violations. If the committee finds a violation, sanctions range from a private letter of caution to a recommendation of disbarment. What the process will not do is get your money back, undo a court ruling, or change the outcome of your case.2Arkansas Judiciary. Arkansas Committee on Professional Conduct Those are separate problems with separate remedies, covered later in this article.
Many people file grievances hoping for financial relief. The committee’s job is discipline, not compensation. If your attorney stole from you, file the complaint, but plan to pursue recovery through other channels at the same time.
Grounds That Actually Support a Complaint
Your complaint must allege a violation of the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct. Not every bad experience with a lawyer qualifies. Disagreeing with strategy, losing your case, or thinking the bill was too high are not, by themselves, ethical violations. The conduct most often disciplined includes:
- Failure to communicate: not returning calls or emails, or failing to keep you informed about your case.
- Lack of diligence: neglecting the matter, missing deadlines, or not doing the work you paid for.
- Incompetence: handling a matter without the knowledge or skill it requires.
- Mishandling client funds: commingling your money with the attorney’s own, using it for personal expenses, or failing to account for it. Client money must be held in a separate trust account.
- Conflicts of interest: representing you while holding personal or other-client obligations that undermine your representation.
- Dishonesty or fraud: lying to you, the court, or opposing parties in connection with your case.
If you are not sure whether your situation crosses the line, file anyway. Staff screen every grievance and will tell you if it falls outside the committee’s authority.
What to Gather Before You File
Pull your file together before you sit down with the grievance form. You will want:
- The attorney’s full name and business address. The Arkansas Bar number is helpful but not required.1Supreme Court of Arkansas – Office of Professional Conduct. Grievance Form Against Attorney
- A chronological written account of what happened, with specific dates for meetings, calls, emails, and key events. Precision strengthens the complaint.
- Photocopies of your fee agreement or retainer, correspondence, court filings, billing statements, and payment records.
Send photocopies only, and keep your originals. The office retains what you submit.
How to Submit the Grievance Form
Use the official form. It’s a fillable PDF on the Arkansas Judiciary website. Complete every section and sign it; incomplete forms delay processing.1Supreme Court of Arkansas – Office of Professional Conduct. Grievance Form Against Attorney There is no online portal. Send the completed form and your supporting documents by one of three routes:
- Mail: Office of Professional Conduct, 501 Woodlane Street, Suite 520-S, Little Rock, AR 72201-1023
- Email: professionalconduct@arcourts.gov
- Fax: (501) 376-3438
Confirm the current mailing address on the Arkansas Judiciary website or on the form itself before you send anything.3Arkansas Judiciary. Office of Professional Conduct
What Happens After You File
Staff conduct an initial screening to decide whether the allegations, if true, would violate the Rules of Professional Conduct. Complaints that clearly fall outside the committee’s authority are dismissed at that stage, and you’ll get written notice.
If your complaint moves forward, the office may help you prepare a formal affidavit. That affidavit and your supporting materials go to the attorney, who has an opportunity to respond in writing. You’ll receive a copy of the response, and in some cases you can submit a rebuttal.2Arkansas Judiciary. Arkansas Committee on Professional Conduct
More serious matters can be set for a public hearing. If yours is, you may be called to testify, so keep your documents organized.
If the committee finds a violation, discipline is scaled to the conduct. A letter of caution is a private warning for minor violations. A reprimand is a formal statement of disapproval that goes on the attorney’s record. Suspension pulls the attorney’s license for a set period. Disbarment, reserved for the most serious misconduct, requires a recommendation to the Arkansas Supreme Court to revoke the license permanently. The committee can also require continuing legal education or a practice audit as a condition.2Arkansas Judiciary. Arkansas Committee on Professional Conduct
If You Want Money Back, Not Just Discipline
A grievance asks whether the attorney violated ethics rules. Recovering money is a separate question with separate procedures. Filing a complaint doesn’t block any of the options below, and often both tracks should run at once.
Legal Malpractice
If the attorney’s negligence caused you a measurable financial loss, you may have a malpractice claim. In Arkansas, you generally must show that the attorney’s work fell below the standard an ordinarily competent attorney would meet and that the failure caused you actual harm, meaning the outcome of the underlying matter would have been different without the mistake.4New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. AMI 1510 Duty of Attorney – Negligence Malpractice claims are civil lawsuits with their own statute of limitations, so consult another attorney promptly if you think you have one.
The Arkansas Client Security Fund
The Arkansas Supreme Court maintains a Client Security Fund to reimburse clients whose attorneys stole or misappropriated their money.5Arkansas Judiciary. Client Security Fund Committee It covers dishonest conduct such as theft or conversion of client funds, not losses from negligence or poor legal work. Reimbursement is a matter of grace rather than a right. Contact the Arkansas Judiciary for the current application process and eligibility.
Fee Disputes
If the whole disagreement is about how much you were charged, a grievance is usually the wrong tool. Being billed more than you expected is not, on its own, an ethical violation. Some state and local bar associations offer fee arbitration or mediation. Contact the Arkansas Bar Association to ask what’s available.