I was looking through disciplinary reports from 30, 40, 50, 60 years ago and there does not seem to have been nearly as much professional discipline for attorneys as there is now. Were lawyers just better behaved? What is the reason?
Samuel C. Stretton.
There are a couple of reasons why there was not as much professional discipline years ago. The first and foremost reason was that professional discipline, before 1972 when the Disciplinary Board and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel were created, was usually done by committee censors. Each county bar association had its own committee of censors. The committee censors then filed disciplinary charges against an attorney. The disciplinary cases were tried in the Common Pleas Court of the local county. Then there was a right to file an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
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