Title GV, Government Code

Sec. 81.036. INFORMATION ON CERTAIN COMPLAINTS. (a) The state bar shall maintain a file on each written complaint, other than a grievance against an attorney, filed with the state bar. The file must include: (1) the name of the person who filed the complaint; (2) the date the com…

Sec. 81.038. USE OF TECHNOLOGY. The board of directors shall develop and implement a policy requiring the executive director and state bar employees to research and propose appropriate technological solutions to improve the state bar's ability to perform its functions. The techno…

Sec. 81.051. BAR MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED. (a) The state bar is composed of those persons licensed to practice law in this state. Bar members are subject to this chapter and to the rules adopted by the supreme court. (b) Each person licensed to practice law in this state shall, not la…

Sec. 81.052. MEMBERSHIP CLASSES. (a) A bar membership is one of four classes: active, inactive, emeritus, or associate. (b) Each licensed member of the state bar is an active member until the person requests to be enrolled as an inactive member. (c) An inactive member is a person…

Sec. 81.053. STATUS OF CERTAIN MEMBERSHIP CLASSES. (a) An inactive member may not practice law in this state, except as provided by rule promulgated by the supreme court for volunteer practice, and may not hold an office in the state bar or vote in any election conducted by the s…

Sec. 81.054. MEMBERSHIP FEES AND ADDITIONAL FEES. (a) The supreme court shall set membership fees and other fees for members of the state bar during the court's annual budget process under Section 81.022. The fees, except as provided by Subsection (j) and those set for associate …

Sec. 81.061. SUPREME COURT JURISDICTION EXCLUSIVE. Rules governing the admission to the practice of law are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the supreme court. The officers and directors of the state bar do not have authority to approve or disapprove of any rule governing adm…

Sec. 81.062. STATE BAR ADMISSION AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF. In establishing the rules governing the admission to the practice of law under Section 81.061, the supreme court shall ensure that no rule violates Chapter 110, Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg.,…

Sec. 81.071. DISCIPLINARY JURISDICTION. Each attorney admitted to practice in this state and each attorney specially admitted by a court of this state for a particular proceeding is subject to the disciplinary and disability jurisdiction of the supreme court and the Commission fo…

Sec. 81.072. GENERAL DISCIPLINARY AND DISABILITY PROCEDURES. (a) In furtherance of the supreme court's powers to supervise the conduct of attorneys, the court shall establish disciplinary and disability procedures in addition to the procedures provided by this subchapter. (b) The…

Sec. 81.073. CLASSIFICATION OF GRIEVANCES. (a) The chief disciplinary counsel's office shall classify each grievance on receipt as: (1) a complaint, if the grievance: (A) alleges conduct that, if true, constitutes professional misconduct or disability cognizable under the Texas D…

Sec. 81.074. DISPOSITION OF INQUIRIES. The chief disciplinary counsel shall: (1) dismiss a grievance classified as an inquiry; and (2) refer each inquiry classified under Section 81.073(a)(2)(A) or (B) and dismissed under this section to the voluntary mediation and dispute resolu…

Sec. 81.075. DISPOSITION OF COMPLAINTS. (a) The chief disciplinary counsel shall review and investigate each grievance classified as a complaint to determine whether there is just cause, as defined by the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure. (b) After the chief disciplinary cou…

Sec. 81.0751. APPEALS. (a) The commission or a respondent attorney may appeal: (1) a finding of a panel of a district grievance committee under Section 81.075(e) only to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals; (2) a finding of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals to the supreme court; an…

Sec. 81.0752. CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) All types of information, proceedings, hearing transcripts, and statements presented to a panel of a district grievance committee are confidential and may not be disclosed to any person other than the chief disciplinary counsel unless: (1) discl…

Sec. 81.0753. RULES REGARDING GRIEVANCES. The supreme court shall promulgate rules regarding the classification and disposition of grievances, including rules specifying time limits for each stage of the grievance resolution process. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 227, Sec. 1…

Sec. 81.076. COMMISSION FOR LAWYER DISCIPLINE. (a) The Commission for Lawyer Discipline shall review the structure, function, and effectiveness of the disciplinary and disability procedures implemented pursuant to this chapter and supreme court rules. (b) The commission is a stan…

Sec. 81.077. DISBARMENT PROCEEDINGS. (a) The supreme court may not adopt or promulgate any rule abrogating the right of trial by jury of an accused attorney in a disbarment action in the county of the residence of the accused attorney. (b) A disbarment proceeding against a reside…

Sec. 81.078. DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), until an attorney has been convicted of the charges for disbarment pending against the attorney in a court of competent jurisdiction, the attorney may be suspended from the practice of law only if th…

Sec. 81.079. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND INFORMATION. (a) To provide information to the public relating to the attorney grievance process, the state bar shall: (1) develop a brochure written in Spanish and English describing the bar's grievance process; (2) establish a toll-free "800…

Sec. 81.080. ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENA; OBJECTION. (a) On approval of the presiding officer of the appropriate district grievance committee, the chief disciplinary counsel may, during an investigation of a grievance, issue a subpoena that relates directly to a specific allegation of a…

Sec. 81.081. ATTORNEY SELF-REPORTING. The chief disciplinary counsel shall develop guidelines and a procedure for an attorney to self-report: (1) any criminal offense committed by the attorney; and (2) any disciplinary action taken by another state's bar against the attorney. Add…

Sec. 81.082. PROCESS TO IDENTIFY COMPLAINTS SUITABLE FOR SETTLEMENT OR INVESTIGATORY HEARING. (a) The chief disciplinary counsel shall develop a process to identify a complaint that is appropriate for a settlement attempt or an investigatory hearing before a trial is requested or…

Sec. 81.083. SANCTION GUIDELINES. (a) The chief disciplinary counsel shall propose and the supreme court shall adopt by rule sanction guidelines to: (1) associate a specific rule violation or ethical misconduct with a range of appropriate sanctions; (2) provide aggravating and mi…

Sec. 81.084. GRIEVANCE TRACKING SYSTEM. (a) The chief disciplinary counsel shall create and maintain a grievance tracking system for grievances filed and disciplinary decisions issued under this subchapter. (b) The grievance tracking system must: (1) associate each rule violation…

Sec. 81.085. REGULAR SEARCH OF NATIONAL LAWYER REGULATORY DATA BANK. The chief disciplinary counsel shall establish a process to regularly search the National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank maintained by the American Bar Association to identify a member of the state bar who is disci…

Sec. 81.086. TELECONFERENCE. The chief disciplinary counsel may hold investigatory and disciplinary hearings by teleconference. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 531 (S.B. 302), Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2017. SUBCHAPTER E-1. COMMITTEE ON DISCIPLINARY RULES AND REFERENDA; …

Sec. 81.0871. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "committee" means the Committee on Disciplinary Rules and Referenda. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 531 (S.B. 302), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2017.

Sec. 81.0872. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE. (a) The committee consists of nine members, including: (1) three attorneys appointed by the president of the state bar; (2) one nonattorney public member appointed by the president of the state bar; (3) four attorneys appointed by the sup…

Sec. 81.0873. COMMITTEE DUTIES. The committee shall: (1) regularly review the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure; (2) at least annually issue to the supreme court and the board of directors a report on the adequacy of th…

Sec. 81.0874. STAFF ATTORNEY. The state bar may hire a staff attorney to assist the committee. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 531 (S.B. 302), Sec. 10, eff. September 1, 2017.

Sec. 81.0875. INITIATION OF RULE PROPOSAL PROCESS. (a) The committee may initiate the process for proposing a disciplinary rule for the state bar as the committee considers necessary or in conjunction with the review of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and the…

Sec. 81.0876. RULE PROPOSAL. (a) On initiation of the process for proposing a disciplinary rule, the committee shall: (1) study the issue to be addressed by the proposed rule; (2) hold a public hearing on the issue; (3) draft the proposed rule, which may not address more than one…

Sec. 81.0877. APPROVAL OF PROPOSED DISCIPLINARY RULE BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS. (a) The board of directors shall vote on each proposed disciplinary rule recommended by the committee not later than the 120th day after the date the rule is received from the committee. The board shall v…

Sec. 81.0878. REFERENDUM VOTE BY STATE BAR MEMBERS. (a) On receipt of a petition filed by the board of directors under Section 81.0877(b), the supreme court shall: (1) distribute a copy of the rule in ballot form to each member of the state bar and order a vote on the rule; and (…

Sec. 81.0879. SUPREME COURT APPROVAL OR REJECTION. The supreme court by majority vote may approve or reject a proposed disciplinary rule in its entirety, but may not approve or reject only part of the rule. If the supreme court does not vote on the rule on or before the 120th day…

Sec. 81.08791. RULE DELIBERATIONS. (a) The committee, the board of directors, or the supreme court shall provide notice of any deliberation on a proposed disciplinary rule, and the deliberation must be open to the public. (b) The board of directors and the supreme court shall rec…

Sec. 81.08792. PROPOSED DISCIPLINARY RULE APPROVAL REQUIRED BEFORE ADOPTION. A proposed disciplinary rule may not be adopted by the supreme court unless the rule is approved by: (1) the committee; (2) the board of directors; (3) the members of the state bar; and (4) the supreme c…

Sec. 81.08793. USE OF TECHNOLOGY. The supreme court, the committee, and the state bar shall use technological solutions throughout the disciplinary rule proposal process to promote: (1) financial efficiency; and (2) comments from interested persons. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg.,…

Sec. 81.08794. EXPIRED TIME AND DEFEATED RULE PROPOSAL. (a) If a time limit provided by this subchapter expires or a disciplinary rule proposal is otherwise defeated, the process for initiating the proposed disciplinary rule may again be initiated in accordance with this subchapt…

Sec. 81.0881. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Ombudsman" means the ombudsman for the attorney discipline system of the state bar. (2) "System" means the attorney discipline system of the state bar. Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 531 (S.B. 302), Sec. 10, eff. Septe…

Sec. 81.0882. OMBUDSMAN FOR ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE SYSTEM. (a) The state bar shall fund one full-time equivalent position of ombudsman for the attorney discipline system. (b) The ombudsman is selected by the members of the supreme court and is independent of the state bar, the board…

Sec. 81.0883. POWERS AND DUTIES OF OMBUDSMAN. (a) The ombudsman shall: (1) review grievances to determine whether the state bar followed the proper grievance procedures; (2) receive complaints about the system; (3) receive and investigate complaints on violations of the system's …

Sec. 81.0884. ACCESS TO INFORMATION. The chief disciplinary counsel, a district grievance committee, the board of directors, the commission, and state bar members shall share with the ombudsman requested information that is necessary to: (1) determine whether the state bar follow…

Sec. 81.0885. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION; PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATIONS. (a) All types of information, proceedings, hearing transcripts, and statements presented to the ombudsman are confidential and may not be disclosed to any person other than the chief disciplinary counsel unless di…

Sec. 81.091. COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL ETHICS. (a) The professional ethics committee consists of nine members of the state bar appointed by the supreme court. (b) Members serve three-year terms with the terms of three members expiring each year. (c) The supreme court shall design…