The grievance boards don’t exist to protect clients. They exist to protect the system.

If a lawyer neglects their clients, lies to them, or even mishandles cases, the “justice system” often looks the other way. Complaints from everyday people can sit for years, dismissed as unimportant. Families suffer, lives are destroyed, and the silence is deafening.

But when a lawyer dares to speak against a judge, question the court’s authority, or shine a light on corruption, the grievance machine moves at lightning speed. Suddenly, discipline is swift, punishment is severe, and the board acts like it has teeth. Why? Because the real priority isn’t justice for the people—it’s self-preservation of the system.

A lawyer who hurts clients threatens individuals. But a lawyer who challenges judges threatens the illusion of judicial integrity. And the system will always protect its own image before protecting the people it claims to serve.

This is why corruption festers. The watchdog doesn’t guard the public—it guards the gatekeepers.

Until accountability is demanded from the outside, grievance boards will continue doing what they were designed to do: shield the powerful, silence dissent, and keep the public in the dark.

Carey Ann George