| Author |
Message |
    
Christine Baker
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 300
Registered: 08-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 04:34 pm: | 
|
From their website http://azbar.org/Discipline/process.asp
"What Doesn’t the State Bar of Arizona Handle?
1. The State Bar cannot investigate complaints of malpractice or resolve legal questions.
2. The State Bar typically has no jurisdiction over issues pending in court or matters which arise out of a lawyer's personal life, such as disputes with neighbors, creditors, or spouses.
3. The State Bar does not investigate complaints against judges. Complaints against Arizona judges are handled by the Commission on Judicial Conduct, Phoenix, AZ, (602) 542-5200.
4. The State Bar informally investigates UPL complaints and then refers appropriate complaints to other agencies for prosecution.
5. The State Bar does not investigate complaints against lawyers who are not licensed in Arizona unless they are practicing law in Arizona courts. Complaints usually must be filed in the state where the lawyer is licensed.
6. The State Bar will not review complaints that are not received in writing. To request a complaint form, please call (602) 340-7280."
There's a lot more info on the proceedings on that page.
NOTE: The complaint form is NOT available on-line. Of course they are trying to make is as difficult as possible to file a complaint.
When I called to order the form yesterday, I got to listen to lots of announcements, and they are trying to get people to do a CONFIDENTIAL phone investigation first.
Of course that's also done to minimize the number of formal complaints.
Today I called to get more information, but it doesn't seem possible to get to a person, I had to leave my number for them to call me back.
I will update as that happens. |
Christine Baker
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 301
Registered: 08-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 01, 2002 - 06:51 pm: |
|
Got a call back from Kip Micuda, attorney for the State Bar.
I am FURIOUS!
Well, let's start from the beginning.
1) The complaint form isn't on the web, but they are in the process of doing so. "We haven't gotten around to it yet."
2) Are the "public" complaints on the web? No. You have to call membership records 602-340-7239.
"There is an effort to put the public stuff online."
3) I inquired about their "confidential" phone investigations they recommend so heavily in their announcement at the number to order the complaint form.
He told me that if it sounds like something fairly minor, they will try to resolve it via phone.
He stated that 6,500 to 7,000 of the about 8,000 annual complaints are resolved via this CONFIDENTIAL phone process.
He wouldn't give me general info, and asked that I give a specific case.
So I thought I'd see how that works and explained to him the case of Joseph Udall filing a counterclaim against Holly for the paid debt.
I explained in detail how Udall left the VM on Thu afternoon, threatening to file a countersuit unless the debt was paid, that I sent the $$$ to Holly for payment in full on Friday and advised him accordingly, that he promised me he would discuss the payment in full with Capital One and that he would get back to me and then instead filed the counterclaim + over $650 in attorneys fees.
Guess what MORON Kip Micuda had to say:
"Well, I'm just getting your side of the story, but if he's got a legal theory, an argument, that things are not the way you stated then he is perfectly entitled to do what he's doing."
He went on to explain that if he has not been able to confirm that the payment was made, Udall was entitled to file the counterclaim including attorneys fees because debtors say all the time that "the check is in the mail.
I thought I wasn't hearing right! Now you know why all these phone complaints are resolved. People just give up, have a case of beer or whatever their preferred method of numbing the brain is.
Kip Micuda went on to state:
"If the attorney can not confirm that the debt is paid, then he is entitled to file suit. He doesn't have to take YOUR word that is was paid."
I asked whether he didn't think he should have let me know that mailing the checks wasn't good enough:
"He doesn't have to do ANYTHING. All he needs to know is IS the debt paid or not."
Can I record?
"I'll terminate the call."
Why?
"Because, I don't approve of someone recording me."
Why not?
"I don't have to explain."
This guy should be disbarred for what he is pulling on consumers.
I'll add him to the list of people I'm filing PUBLIC written complaints about.
For over 6 minutes we discussed Udall's countersuit and all he did was DEFEND him.
THAT is how consumer complaints are resolved by the Arizona State Bar. It's a SCAM to keep people from filing written complaints.
Essentially Kip Micuda told me that attorneys can tell you on the phone whatever they want, that they can promise anything and not be held to their word.
BY attorneys FOR attorneys!
File the WRITTEN complaint and publish the results. |
|
