The Statewide Grievance Committee only has authority to discipline a lawyer up to a reprimand. It does not have the authority to suspend or disbar a lawyer. That can only be done by the Superior Court, in a prosecution called an attorney presentment, which begins when Chief Disciplinary Counsel files a presentment complaint in Superior Court.

Attorney disciplinary proceedings regarding the misconduct are quasi-criminal in nature because a lawyer has a property interest in her license to practice law. In attorney disciplinary proceedings, adequate notice of the charges against her must be provided.