Reviewed and corrected October 10, 2026. This guide explains the Texas grievance process; no wording, form or citation guarantees an investigation or disciplinary result.

When a lawyer will not explain a bill, return a file or answer a serious concern, the next step can be hard to identify. A useful grievance starts with a clear account of what happened and the records that support it. It should help a reviewer understand the conduct without asking them to accept conclusions that the evidence does not establish.

Stop Legal Bullying, the campaign associated with Caroline Allison and Damn Lawyers, advocates stronger accountability. That advocacy does not make the campaign a regulator or your lawyer. This guide concerns Texas lawyer discipline. A judicial complaint, a fee dispute and a lawsuit for damages follow different routes.

1. Identify the problem and the outcome you need

Write down the specific action or omission: a missed deadline, money you cannot account for, an unanswered request, or advice that appears to involve conflicting interests. Separate what you personally observed from what someone else told you. Losing a case, receiving an unwelcome legal opinion or being unhappy with a fee does not by itself establish professional misconduct.

The State Bar’s Client–Attorney Assistance Program can help with some communication and relationship problems. Its published telephone number is 800-932-1900. A disciplinary grievance addresses possible violations of professional rules; it is not a substitute for independent advice about recovering money or protecting a pending case. Do not assume another deadline stops because you submitted a grievance.

For broader context, the campaign’s discussion of disputed legal charges and reporting on inheritance-related legal bills explain the concerns driving its advocacy. Those campaign accounts cannot determine whether a particular bill violates a rule.

2. Build a dated evidence file

Start with the engagement agreement, bills, payment records, relevant messages and court orders. Make a short chronology with a date, event and supporting document for each entry. Keep originals and work from copies. A reviewer should be able to locate the passage you rely on without searching an unexplained collection of screenshots.

Preserve the surrounding conversation, not just an angry sentence. If you do not know whether the lawyer received a message or controlled an account, say so. Do not fill gaps with assumptions about motives, relationships or other clients. Label your own notes as notes and distinguish them from documents created at the time.

Families comparing experiences can consult the campaign’s probate accounts and supporting materials. Another person’s account may suggest questions to ask, but it is not proof of what happened in your case.

3. Describe the conduct before choosing a rule

A concrete statement is more useful than an accusation: “I requested an accounting on these dates and have not received one,” followed by the requests and any responses. Explain the consequence you can document. Avoid describing someone as guilty, corrupt or dishonest merely because you disagree with their explanation.

The current Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct include Rule 1.15 on safekeeping property. It addresses separation of client property, notification, delivery and accounting, subject to its terms. Other issues may involve different rules. Read the current rule in context; citing a number does not establish that it applies or force a favorable classification.

The campaign’s review of online reputation signals also offers a reminder: a rating, testimonial or complaint count should not replace records about the individual conduct at issue. If you use software to organize your documents, check every quotation, date and rule yourself.

4. Use the current official form and read its declarations

Find the State Bar of Texas page titled “File a Grievance” and use its current form or online portal. As checked for this update, the Bar requires the form effective October 1, 2025 and warns that outdated or incomplete forms may be rejected. Follow its instructions for unknown or inapplicable answers and the permitted submission method.

Read the declarations before signing. The portal explains that a grievance against a current or former lawyer includes consent to disclosure of confidential information concerning that professional relationship and the grievance. It also requires care with third-party identifiers and protected information. Do not treat this as a harmless checkbox or publish your evidence file online. Obtain independent advice if you are uncertain about disclosure.

Save the exact submission, attachments and receipt. The regulator needs an intelligible record, not repeated copies of the same allegation. The campaign’s investigative reporting collection is separate from the official submission process; contacting a campaign is not filing with the Bar.

5. Track the actual decision and any review deadline

Under Rule 2.10 of the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, the Chief Disciplinary Counsel examines a grievance within thirty days to classify it as an Inquiry, Complaint or Discretionary Referral. These terms describe procedural stages. Classification as a Complaint is not a finding that the lawyer committed misconduct.

An Inquiry dismissal may be appealed to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals within thirty days of notification. If that classification is affirmed, Rule 2.10 provides a limited opportunity to amend with new or additional evidence. Read the notice and current rule promptly rather than relying on a general online summary.

A different process applies after an investigation produces a no-just-cause recommendation. Rule 2.13 provides for a Summary Disposition Panel; its decision to dismiss or proceed is not appealable under that rule. Do not confuse this stage with the initial classification appeal. Keep the decision itself, the date received and any instructions together.

Read campaign records as allegations, not outcomes

The campaign’s public account of additional people coming forward illustrates why every new account needs its own evidence review. Public attention is not a disciplinary finding.

The following materials are separate campaign records, not examples of proven violations or evidence about every Texas lawyer. Their value is in showing what a filer alleged and which documents a reader would need to test that account.

The campaign has published records concerning the scope of an engagement, representations during a legal matter and the basis for disputed fees. Read each in its own context rather than combining them into one accusation.

Other files concern professional responsibilities in a separate representation and another account of legal services. A further submission describes concerns about an older client’s circumstances; those concerns require evidence and an appropriate decision before they can be described as findings.

Judicial oversight is a separate system. The campaign’s judicial-conduct submission and related court-accountability accounts are campaign background, not State Bar determinations or instructions for obtaining a particular outcome.

A strong submission makes the facts easier to check. It cannot promise discipline, compensation or a change in the underlying case.

Sources checked: State Bar of Texas, File a Grievance and online grievance portal; Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.15; Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, Rules 2.10 and 2.13. Rules and forms checked October 10, 2026. This is general public information, not advice for an individual case.