By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Updated
Almost all the content on this subject conflates three different problems that go to three different places — and the right place differs depending on whether you are in the United States or Canada. This covers both. Getting the door right saves months.
| Three separate problems | Conduct · the amount of the bill · negligence causing loss. |
|---|---|
| Conduct | State bar or disciplinary body (US); law society (Canada). |
| The bill | Fee arbitration (US); a court review or assessment (Canada). |
| Negligence causing loss | A malpractice claim. Different again, and time-limited. |
| What discipline will not do | Get your money back. ABA: it "will probably not help you recover any money." |
| What a Canadian law society will not do | Reduce a bill. All three of Ontario, BC and Alberta say so outright. |
| First step, always | "Talk with your lawyer. A lack of communication causes many problems." |
Keeping track of dates like these across a stack of letters is exactly what SortMyDivorce does — start a free trial, no card needed.
Every body that handles these complaints — the American Bar Association in the United States, and the law societies of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada — opens its guidance with the same, least dramatic step. The ABA puts it most plainly:
"First, talk with your lawyer. A lack of communication causes many problems."
The Canadian law societies say the same thing in their own words, and for the same reason: a very large share of what reaches a complaints body is a communication breakdown that a scheduled file review would have resolved. That is not a criticism — when you are paying a great deal of money and hearing nothing, escalating feels like the only lever. But it is usually the slowest one.
The second point is also common to both systems, and the ABA states it most directly: "You can decide whom to hire (and fire) as your lawyer." Changing firms is often the faster remedy, though it has its own costs.
Neglect, failure to communicate, dishonesty, conflicts of interest, mishandling money.
United States: the body that governs law licences in your state — variously a state bar, an office of disciplinary counsel, or an attorney grievance commission.
Canada: your provincial law society.
What it achieves: the ABA is direct — disciplinary action "may punish the lawyer for misconduct, but it will probably not help you recover any money." It is a regulatory process, not a compensation one.
United States: fee arbitration, run by state or local bar associations. In California, under Business and Professions Code § 6200, arbitration is "voluntary for a client and… mandatory for an attorney if commenced by a client" — meaning if you request it, your lawyer generally has to take part.
Canada: a court process, not a law society one. The law societies say so themselves:
Ontario: it "does not set fees for legal services and cannot reduce a lawyer's or paralegal's bill that you think is too high.". British Columbia: "The Law Society cannot order the lawyer to reduce his or her bill.". Alberta: it "cannot assist with legal fee issues" and has "no authority to order a lawyer to reimburse a client or to reduce the amount they have charged.".
The process is called assessment in Ontario, review in British Columbia and Alberta, and taxation in some other provinces. Deadlines are real and short — Ontario one month as of right, BC three months after payment or a year if unpaid, Alberta one year under Rule 10.10(2). This is covered in detail in our guide to challenging a lawyer's bill.
A missed limitation period. A deadline blown. Advice that was wrong and cost you money.
This is a malpractice claim, and it is a different process again, with its own time limits. If you think you have one, get independent legal advice promptly — the window can be shorter than you expect.
Where money has been misappropriated rather than lost through error, most jurisdictions maintain a compensation or client security fund.
Be chronological. Dates, in order, factually. What you asked, when, what happened.
Be specific about the conduct, not the outcome. "I did not get the result I wanted" is not a complaint. "I wrote on 8 August, 22 August and 5 September and received no response; the disclosure deadline of 12 September passed without anything being filed" is.
Attach the record. Your correspondence, the retainer agreement, the invoices, any file notes.
Say what you have already done. That you raised it with the firm, when, and what happened. Most bodies will ask, and some require it.
Say what you want. Even where the body cannot give it, it clarifies whether you are in the right place — and if you are not, they can usually tell you where to go.
Keep it proportionate in tone. A calm, dated, evidenced complaint is treated more seriously than an angry one, and this is one of the places where that is measurably true.
A complaint usually ends the relationship. If you are mid-matter with a court date approaching, think about sequencing. It may be better to conclude the immediate stage, or to change firms first.
Check what the body actually does. Filing a conduct complaint about a bill wastes months and produces a letter telling you it is the wrong process. That is the single most common wasted step in this whole area.
Verification note. Complaint bodies, their powers, their procedures and their time limits differ in every US state and every Canadian province. This guide explains the structure — three problems, three doors — rather than the procedure in any one place. Start with your own state bar or provincial law society. Quebec is not covered.
Generally no. The ABA states that discipline "will probably not help you recover any money." Money comes from fee arbitration (if the dispute is the amount), a malpractice claim (if there was negligent loss), or a client security fund (if there was theft).
Not in Canada — law societies state explicitly that they cannot reduce a bill. In the US, fee arbitration is the process that deals with the amount, not discipline.
No. Your lawyer will be told who complained and will be given an opportunity to respond. Expect the relationship to end.
Months, commonly. These are regulatory processes with their own procedures, and they are not fast.
Technically yes; practically it is difficult. Plan on the basis that you will be finding new representation.
That is worth treating as its own problem before it becomes a complaint. See our guide on what to do when your divorce lawyer isn't responding — the escalation ladder there resolves most cases without a formal complaint.
Last reviewed August 2026. Researched and written by Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — laws, fees and forms change, so please confirm current details with the official sources above or a local family lawyer.
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