Ala. R. Disciplinary P. 7

(a) Approval of a Local Grievance Committee. A grievance committee of a

circuit, county, or city bar association (hereinafter referred to as a “local grievance

committee”) must be approved by the Board of Commissioners of the Alabama State Bar

before investigating complaints or recommending discipline. Such approval will be for a

period of no more than five (5) years and may be withdrawn by the Board of

Commissioners at any time for good cause. At the end of the approval period, the Board

of Commissioners may reapprove a local grievance committee upon application of that

committee and upon examination of the record of that committee for prompt, complete,

and fair investigation of complaints.

(b) Failure to Investigate. The failure of a local grievance committee to

investigate a complaint or to recommend action against a lawyer shall in no event

constitute a bar to the investigation of the complaint, to the recommendation of

punishment, or to the prosecution of charges by the General Counsel of the Alabama

State Bar against the lawyer for, or arising out of, the same facts. A local grievance

committee shall make available any file of a complaint or investigation to the General

Counsel within fourteen (14) days of receipt of a written request for such information by

the General Counsel.

(c) Reapproval of Existing Local Grievance Committees. Six (6) months after

the effective date of these rules, the Board of Commissioners of the Alabama State Bar

shall reconsider each existing local grievance committee as provided in (a) of this rule.

(d) Terms of Members of Local Grievance Committees. Members appointed to

serve on a local grievance committee shall be appointed for the following terms: onethird

of the initial members shall be appointed for one year; one-third of the initial members

shall be appointed for two years; and one-third of the initial members shall be appointed

for three years. Subsequent appointments shall be for the terms of three (3) years. No

member who has served three full three-year terms shall be eligible for reappointment to

the committee until two (2) years after the end of that member's most recent term. Any

member appointed to serve on a local grievance committee, shall, before serving on the

committee, attend a training session conducted by the Office of General Counsel of the

Alabama State Bar.