Adjunct Disciplinary Counsel Panel

The Adjunct Disciplinary Counsel (ADC) Panel is established by Rule 2.9 of the Washington Supreme Court's Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct (ELC). Under ELC 5.3(c), disciplinary counsel may assign a grievance to an ADC for investigation under the supervision of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. In addition, members of the ADC Panel may be called upon to serve as volunteers in the discipline system in a variety of other capacities, such as:

• Assisting disciplinary counsel with a portion of an investigation by reviewing court files, interviewing witnesses, or analyzing evidence;
• Serving as Special Disciplinary Counsel/Adjunct Trial Counsel to represent the WSBA in the prosecution of a disciplinary case;
• Providing disciplinary counsel with an opinion on an area of law relevant to a disciplinary hearing or investigation;
• Providing disciplinary counsel with advice on an aspect of a pending disciplinary proceeding;
• Serving as a probation monitor following imposition of a disciplinary sanction;
• Serving as a file custodian when a lawyer dies, disappears, or otherwise becomes incapable of protecting client interests.

Appointment Criteria

The Panel is appointed by the Board of Governors upon the recommendation of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel under Rule 2.9(b) of the Washington Supreme Court's Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct (ELC). To be considered, an applicant must be an active lawyer member of the WSBA with at least seven years as an active lawyer member or judicial member and have no record of disciplinary action. In appointing ADCs, the Board considers diversity in gender, ethnicity, disability status, sexual orientation, geography, area of practice, and practice experience under ELC 2.2(f). Each ADC is appointed to a five-year term and may be reappointed.

Contact Us

Staff liaison: Rachel Agent