Legal Definitions - disbarment

Disbarment is the most serious punishment for a lawyer who has done something wrong. It means that the lawyer's license to practice law is taken away. Only a court can give a lawyer a license to practice law, so only a court can take it away. Sometimes, less serious punishments like suspension or probation are given instead of disbarment.

There are many reasons why a lawyer might be disbarred. Some of these reasons include:

• Committing a serious crime like fraud or forgery
• Being dishonest with clients
• Not paying attention to clients
• Having a problem with drugs or alcohol that affects their work
• Stealing money from clients
• Breaking the rules that lawyers are supposed to follow

The rules for punishing lawyers are different in each state. However, most states use the same rules that were created by the American Bar Association. These rules say that when a lawyer does something wrong, the court should think about:

• Who the lawyer hurt by doing something wrong
• Whether the lawyer meant to do something wrong or not
• How much harm the lawyer caused
• Anything that might make the punishment worse or better

For example, if a lawyer steals money from a client, they might be disbarred. This is because stealing is a serious crime, and it hurts the client a lot. However, if a lawyer makes a small mistake that doesn't hurt anyone, they might just get a warning instead of being disbarred.