A proposal to give the District of Columbia Bar’s Board of Governors more control over the budget of the bar’s disciplinary arm has sparked a backlash, with officials on the disciplinary side warning that the changes could threaten the bar’s ability to police its members.
The changes to the bar’s rules, spelled out in a June 18 letter from the bar to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, would give the bar new authority to approve the disciplinary arm’s contracts. The bar already funds the disciplinary system and approves its overall budget; the proposed changes would expand the bar’s oversight of how that money is spent.
