Rule 29 Board’s Role in Cases of Disbarred and Suspended Attorneys.

When a lawyer gets suspended or disbarred in Hawaiʻi, the Disciplinary Board doesn't handle the follow-up work itself. Instead, this job goes to Counsel (the disciplinary attorneys who run these cases). Counsel takes care of several things after the suspension or disbarment order comes down.

First, Counsel makes sure the public knows about it by publishing official notices. Counsel also sends certified copies of the suspension or disbarment order to judges across the state, plus the federal courts in Hawaiʻi, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Counsel also puts out a press release so the news and public are informed.

The rule also covers what happens if there are other complaints or investigations against the same lawyer. Disbarment or suspension doesn't stop Counsel from looking into other problems the lawyer may have caused, whether those cases are already open or come up later. Counsel can still gather and hold onto evidence for these other matters. However, these other cases can be put on hold until the lawyer tries to get their law license back. If a case does get paused this way, Counsel has to tell the lawyer that the hold can be lifted if the lawyer moves forward with reinstatement.