State Bar of Arizona

Attorney misconduct can be reported to the State Bar of Arizona. After a report of attorney misconduct is received, the State Bar of Arizona will determine if the conduct warrants the filing of a formal complaint.

Formal complaints of misconduct are filed by the State Bar of Arizona with the Disciplinary Clerk, Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge.

When determining an appropriate sanction for violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, the Supreme Court of Arizona uses the American Bar Association's Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions and a review of past cases involving similar misconduct.

The Disciplinary Cases Matrix includes all disciplinary decisions of the Supreme Court of Arizona from 1986 except for:

• reciprocal cases;
• consents to disbarment; and
• transfers to disability/inactive status and reinstatement cases.

For cases decided between 1981-1985, only suspension and disbarment cases are listed. Beginning January 1, 2011, formal attorney discipline cases are processed through the office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge.

The public can also request the "Disciplinary History" of a member of the State Bar of Arizona or obtain a "Certificate of Good Standing."

The State Bar of Arizona (SBA) Public Service Center (PSC) is an online platform powered by Legal Services Link, LLC. The "Find-a-Lawyer" directory allows potential paying clients to connect with the right attorney for their case. The public can use the Legal Service Link of the State Bar of Arizona to find an attorney.

First, the consumer can anonymously post information about their legal needs quickly and for no charge. Second, lawyers interested in helping can contact the consumer by email. The consumer can then review the emails and select the best lawyer for the case. 

The attorney can log in to their AZBar Account on the Arizona State Bar website to create a file or update their information. To create the profile, the attorney can log in and update their member profile to make it as informative as possible. The profile is listed in the directory and is the first thing potential clients see when searching for an attorney or evaluating applications submitted to fulfill their legal needs. 

The legal projects submitted by potential clients in the attorney’s areas of practice and geographic location are emailed to the attorney and listed on the attorney’s homepage. From the attorney homepage, the attorney can also click "Find Work" at the top of the page to be directed to a page listing all legal projects posted to the site. 

For attorneys with a Premium Account, which is only $300 a year, the attorney can respond to unlimited legal projects and connect with unlimited clients. In other words, attorneys pay a $300 yearly fee for unlimited access to the directory with no charge per legal project and no fee-splitting.

To respond to a legal project, the attorney can click on the project title and then the "Connect with this Client" button. The attorney can then draft and submit their message, which is emailed directly to the potential client. 

After reviewing the message, the client will decide whether to respond to the message. Any conversation between the client and attorney occurs outside the platform. 

The public can also find information about attorneys by searching with any combination of the following search features: by name, by name of the firm or company, by practice area of law, or by city. The areas of law included within the directory include: 

• Bankruptcy
• Business
• Contracts
• Commercial
• Criminal
• Evictions
• Family
• Immigration
• Insurance
• Intellectual Property
• Labor & Employment
• Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Mortgage
• Personal Injury
• Real Estate
• Tax
• Trusts & Estates
• Wills
• Worker Compensation

The State Bar of Arizona, Public Service Center (PSC), provides access to independent attorneys and information from those independent attorneys through the directory. The directory also helps attorneys find ways to participate in volunteer projects or connect with potential clients who need pro bono work.

The public can also search for attorneys in Arizona designated as a Board Certified Specialist on the website of the State Bar of Arizona by selecting the area of specialty from the sidebar on the left and then clicking the button to “Expand to find a Certified Specialist in your area.” Then select a city to find a list of nearby attorneys designated as Certified Specialists.

In addition to the State Bar of Arizona's Find-a-Lawyer feature, the public can benefit from using Lawyer Referral Services, including the Maricopa County Bar Lawyer Referral Service and the Pima County Bar Lawyer Referral Service.

To find a lawyer who graduated from a particular law school in Arizona, use our law school alumni directory. 

Attorneys must be admitted in another jurisdiction that allows for the admission of licensed Arizona attorneys on a basis equivalent to the Arizona Rules. Reciprocal status is determined upon the date of receipt of the application.

The Arizona Supreme Court allows attorneys to make an application for "Admission on Motion." Along with the application, the attorney must make the appropriate payment answer the certification and character investigation questions

The admission on motion procedures allow attorneys to bypass the bar examination and substitute years of successful, ethical active practice as evidence they meet educational criteria. 

The admission on motion procedures requires attorneys to meet specific requirements including:

• a J.D. degree from an ABA accredited law school
• a showing that the attorney actively practiced law for three of the last five years; 
• being admitted by bar examination either in a reciprocal jurisdiction and/or another jurisdiction
• having current moral fitness
• earning a minimum score of 85 on the MPRE

The rules for Admission on Motion can be found in Rule 34(f). As of July 12, 2016, reciprocity has been established with the following states:

• Alaska
• Colorado
• District of Columbia
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas