Rule 5 Investigation of Grievances

The Office of General Counsel shall conduct any investigation of grievances fairly and impartially and shall seek to elicit any and all facts which might be exculpatory or incriminatory of the subject attorney. All proceedings shall be expeditiously conducted to the end that no grievant be deprived of his right to a timely, fair and proper investigation of a grievance and that no attorney be subjected to unfair and unjust charges.

Procedure

(5.1) General. The Office of General Counsel shall require a grievance to be in writing or may file a grievance on information and belief. The Office of General Counsel shall investigate, if necessary, and report to the Committee on Professional Responsibility regarding all written grievances.

(5.2) Investigations and Investigatory Hearings. Office of General Counsel shall investigate and report to the Committee on Professional Responsibility within sixty (60) days from receipt of the written complaint. The Chair of the Committee on Professional Responsibility may enlarge the time for completion of an investigation and submission of Office of General Counsel’s report. Upon receipt of a written grievance or information indicating probable cause, the Office of General Counsel may conduct a preliminary investigation, either with or without notice to the subject attorney, as in the Office of General Counsel’s discretion appears appropriate. In the Office of General Counsel’s discretion, the grievance and evidence may be

mailed to the attorney for response prior to submission of the report to the Committee on Professional Responsibility. A response by the attorney to the grievance shall be tendered to the Office of General Counsel within fifteen

(15) days of the mailing of the grievance unless the time is extended by the Office of General Counsel. An investigatory hearing in the discretion of the Office of General Counsel or by discretion of the Committee on Professional Responsibility may be conducted prior to the submission of the Office of General Counsel’s report to the Committee on Professional Responsibility.

(5.3) Grievants. The person signing the grievance is not a party to the proceedings and has no authority to subsequently withdraw the grievance. The Office of General Counsel does not represent the grievant. The failure or refusal of the grievant or any witness to cooperate during the investigation shall not be cause for dismissal of the grievance or termination of the investigation. Persons signing grievances or witnesses may be represented by counsel or may proceed as counsel for themselves during any investigation.

(5.4) The Subject Attorney. The attorney who is the subject of the filed grievance is a party to the proceedings, and after written notice of the grievance has been given to the subject attorney by the Office of General Counsel, the subject attorney and/or counsel for the subject attorney shall have the right to appear at any investigatory hearing for the purpose of examining or cross-examining all witnesses and for presenting witnesses and evidence on behalf of the attorney. The subject attorney shall appear at an investigatory hearing and give testimony when written demand is made by the Office of General Counsel. The failure or refusal of the attorney to cooperate at an investigatory hearing shall not be cause for dismissal of the grievance or termination of the investigatory hearing or investigation. The failure of the subject attorney to appear, after proper notice, waives the attorney’s right to cross examine witnesses, present evidence, or present witnesses at the investigatory hearing.

(5.5) Process During Investigations. Subpoenas during investigations by either party to a grievance must be issued by the Clerk of the Court and shall comply with the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Upon completion of the investigation, a copy of the written report, if any, the grievance, and all evidence shall be mailed to the subject attorney. A response by the subject attorney to the report may be tendered to the Office of General Counsel within fifteen (15) days of the mailing of the report. The Office of General Counsel shall forward the subject attorney’s response to the Committee on Professional

Responsibility.