The Standing Committee on Professional Discipline was established in 1973 to assist the judiciary and the bar in the development, coordination, and strengthening of disciplinary enforcement throughout the United States. This new emphasis on professional regulation followed publication of Problems and Recommendations in Disciplinary Enforcement (the "Clark Report") in 1970, which was produced by the Special Committee on Evaluation of Disciplinary Enforcement, chaired by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark. The Clark Report is probably the most widely quoted and influential document in the field of professional discipline and deserves much of the credit for the interest in discipline and its evolution as a legal specialty.

In 1987, the National Organization of Bar Counsel urged the Standing Committee on Professional Discipline to initiate a nationwide study to evaluate developments in professional discipline that had taken place since the Clark Report was issued two decades ago. In 1989, then ABA President Robert D. Raven appointed the Commission on Evaluation of Disciplinary Enforcement (the McKay Commission). In May 1991, the Commission issued its recommendations to meet the needs of an overburdened system of disciplinary enforcement, a changing legal profession and an increasingly involved public. In February 1992, the ABA House of Delegates considered and adopted most of these recommendations.

Lawyer Discipline System Consultations. One of the primary ways that the Discipline Committee promotes improved lawyer and judicial disciplinary systems throughout the United States is through its program of discipline system consultations. The ABA Standing Committee on Professional Discipline has developed criteria adapted from the Model Rules and from the 1992 McKay Commission Report, Lawyer Regulation for a New Century. Upon invitation from a jurisdiction's highest court, the Standing Committee sends a team of individuals experienced in the field of lawyer discipline to consult regarding the structure, operation, practice and procedures of the disciplinary system. The team utilizes the Model Rules and McKay Commission Report as diagnostic tools in reviewing a lawyer disciplinary system. The Standing Committee on Professional Discipline's Guide to Training Lawyer Discipline System Volunteers is an outline for planning and conducting training sessions and creating materials.

Since 1980, more than 40 jurisdictions have been reviewed; five of these were for the second time. The consultation involves a review of the entire lawyer discipline system in a jurisdiction. As part of the process, the team conducts extensive interviews with lawyers and nonlawyers responsible for and affected by the discipline system. These include members of the disciplinary board and hearing committees, disciplinary counsel and staff, members of the court with disciplinary jurisdiction, former respondents, counsel for respondents, complainants, independent lawyers, and representatives of the bar associations. These interviews are conducted for the purpose of providing the team with an understanding and broad cross-section of views about the disciplinary process, including areas that need improvement and those that are functioning well.

The Standing Committee issues its report and recommendations and files it on a confidential basis with the highest court; the court then determines whether to make it public. The report is designed to assist those responsible for the administration of the disciplinary process to improve their system by providing constructive suggestions and recommendations based upon the team's investigation, its collective knowledge and experience, and consideration of the Model Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement.

Judicial Response to Misconduct: The Committee's Judicial Education Program also serves to enhance the Association's role in achieving the highest standards of professionalism and ethics, and helps to increase public confidence in the legal profession. One of the programs, entitled " The Judicial Response to Misconduct," consists of a videotape, discussion guide and handbook designed to assist judicial officers in determining how best to handle lawyer and judicial misconduct. The Committee's Judicial Education Program has been presented to over 65 judges' groups across the country since 1983.

Other Activities: The Committee's efforts to serve the public and the profession in the area of professional regulation also include securing the cooperation of courts in forwarding orders imposing public regulatory action to the National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank, working with West Publishing to create a private regulatory file and Martindale-Hubbell to create a universal lawyer identification numbering system. It also sponsors publication of the Survey on Lawyer Disciplinary Systems, Directory of Lawyer Disciplinary Agencies, and the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions.

Although the ABA is a voluntary national professional association that has no legal authority to adjudicate or intervene in lawyer licensing or disciplinary matters, it does offer the public some information regarding licensing and disciplinary matters.

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