Are you having difficulty resolving differences with your attorney?

A good faith effort should be made by both parties before bringing any complaint to the Bar. If you are having trouble communicating with your attorney, or reaching him or her by phone, try sending a certified letter. If you have already attempted to work things out, but have not been successful, the San Diego County Bar Association may be able to help.

The Bar has a Client Relations Program to assist with some types of attorney/client disputes.

If you meet certain criteria, the Client Relations Program CAN:

• contact your attorney and attempt to informally mediate your complaint
• inform him or her of your complaint
• request that he or she contact you
• suggest alternatives for handling your complaint to both you and your attorney
• refer you to the State Bar of California, if appropriate

The Client Relations Program CANNOT:

• act as your attorney
• discipline an attorney
• force an attorney to do anything
• recover your money or retrieve property (although it can refer your complaint to the Bar's Arbitration Committee, which does handle fee disputes)

The Client Relations Program WILL review and respond to all written complaints.

The San Diego County Bar Association is here to help. If you have made a good faith effort to resolve your dispute, but are still having problems, contact the Bar at (619) 231-0781 and ask for a Client Relations Informal Complaint Form.