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Can a lawyer be reported to the Bar Association for unethical behavior such as stalking?
Anonymous3 views4 answers
I am in the process of leaving my lawyer boyfriend and he is harassing me by showing up at my place of employment, checking my computer & phone, unpacks my packed boxes and stalks me. He threatens to use his connections in court to get custody of my daughter and to keep me in the courts until he bankrupts me. My 8 year old daughter is afraid and although he has not physically abused me, I fear for my safety. This is unethical behavior, can I report him to the Bar Association?
You can report him and they will decide on his fitness to practice law, nothing more.
If you haven't already though, you should go to the police and tell them what you have posted here.
These two options are not mutually exclusive.
Not a good story. I guess lawyers are just like real human beings. If I were you, I would make an appointment with an attorney who may be able to help this problem go away with minimal heartache and hassle, assuming that's what you want. You can take matters into your own hands by seeking a protection order. I'm not sure the idea of keeping you in court over custody until bankruptcy is going to work if he, himself, doesn't have any claim on your daughter. But I am only speculating. I would entrust this delicate matter to the advice of an attorney. Many lawyers will reach out to a colleague to help avoid the kind of personal and professional pitfalls that you are describing, e.g., substance abuse, questionable professional conduct, etc.
As Mr. Pinsker points out, your options are not mutually exclusive, but I believe you would be putting the cart before the horse if you filed an ethics complaint. Although there is the amorphous idea of fitness to practice law, the bar is likely not going to do anything because it is a civil domestic matter. Attorneys are people, and people are allowed to be jerks. They cant commit a crime, that gets anyone in trouble. If your exbf is eventually prosecuted for a crime, the state bar may take note at that point. Attorneys are held to a higher standard in their profession, but are generally held to the same standard as anyone else in their personal life. Only when the personal life substantially interfers with and poses a great risk of harm to an attorney's clients does the state bar get involved.
Also, tactically, it probably not a good move on your part because it will escalate things. You start going after someones livelihood, that is going to make a bad situation worse and not likely lead to your desired result. Go spaek to a family law attorney, and get yourself out of the house (what is this, I am in the process of leaving, leave already).
