Houston Shareholder Dick Schwartz was recently elected to serve as the Chairman for the District 4 Grievance Committee for the State Bar of Texas. This is his second term in this position, as he previously served as chairman of the District 4 Committee from 2018-2019.

The District Grievance Committee members are nominated by State Bar directors and appointed by the State Bar president. They are composed of both lawyer members and public members, and perform two critical roles in the discipline system:

1. Review complaints presented by the Chief Disciplinary Counsel and determine whether the case should be dismissed or proceed to prosecution; and
2. Sit as an administrative tribunal to determine whether professional misconduct was committed and assess an appropriate sanction.

The cases reviewed by these committees are of those who believe they have been a witness to attorney misconduct, whether they are clients, members of the public, members of the legal community or judges. The committees then act through panels, as assigned by the committee chairs, to conduct investigatory hearings, summary disposition dockets and evidentiary hearings.

To learn more about the District Grievance Committees and their role, click here.