The Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) and Office of Bar Counsel (OBC) are currently recruiting. For more information, please visit our Employment Opportunities under the About Us tab at the top of this page.
The Board of Bar Overseers is seeking one public (non-attorney) member to serve on the board for a four-year term. Created in 1974, the BBO regulates the legal profession in Massachusetts, including investigation, prosecution and adjudication of attorney misconduct. We serve a vital mission of public protection and legal education. Of its 12 members, four board members are not lawyers. Having the input and perspective of the public is vital to our mission. We have one opening for a public member for a four-year term starting on July 1, 2026.
Applicants must be Massachusetts residents. We encourage applicants of diverse backgrounds.
Applicants should send a cover letter and resume to: ja.branson@massbbo.org Please use the subject line “Public Member Application.” The deadline for applications is May 15, 2026.
Questions about the position may be directed to the board’s General Counsel, Joseph Berman, at j.berman@massbbo.org
On April 2, 2026, the Board of Bar Overseers submitted a public comment in response to a proposed rule by the United States Department of Justice which would significantly impact the investigation and potential prosecution of lawyers who work for the DOJ. The BBO’s statement may be found here.
In addition, the Office of Bar Counsel has filed a separate comment to the proposed rule. OBC’s comment may be found under the Articles tab on this website.
The SJC encourages lawyers to apply to fill one vacancy on the Board of Bar Overseers. The deadline for applications is May 1, 2026. Additional information and the link to apply may be found here.
The Board of Bar Overseers announces Policy Number 30, governing the appointment of pro bono or reduced fee counsel for respondents in disciplinary cases and petitioners for reinstatement. The new policy may be found here in the linked document.
The Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) is pleased to introduce its new website platform for the posting of orders and decisions in bar discipline and reinstatement matters. Our new platform, powered by Lexum, contains all attorney discipline cases since the BBO’s creation in 1974. It includes decisions from the Supreme Judicial Court as well as the Board of Bar Overseers and its hearing committees. We have discontinued the publication of the Massachusetts Attorney Disciplinary Reports (MADR). If you want to check out our new research site, click here https://decisions.massbbo.org/. WE HOPE ALL USERS OF OUR NEW RESEARCH SITE FIND IT HELPFUL.
The Board of Bar Overseers is seeking lawyers and members of the public to serve as Hearing Officers. More information may be found here.
On July 9, 2025, the American Bar Association issued Formal Opinion 517: Discrimination in the Jury Selection Process. In general, the Opinion indicates that a lawyer who knows or reasonably should know that the lawyer’s exercise of peremptory challenges constitutes unlawful discrimination in the jury selection process violates Model Rule 8.4(g). The full Opinion is linked here. ABA Opinions are advisory and not binding in Massachusetts. They may provide useful guidance in some situations.
The BBO announces the amendment of Board Policy 27 and the implementation of Board Policy 28. Amended Policy 27 governs in-person and remote hearings, with the presumption that hearings will be held in-person. Policy 28 governs the appointment of Commissioners under SJC Rule 4:01 Section 14.
Additionally, Policy 29 has been introduced. Policy 29 states that in all matters before the board for discussion or vote, the Board Chair may participate in the discussion and vote unless otherwise required to abstain or recuse.
For further details, please refer to the linked document.
In response to recent inquiries from the legal community about the possibility of politically-motivated disciplinary complaints, Bar Counsel has released an alert on its independence, titled “What if I am the Subject of a Complaint Accusing Me of Unethical Conduct?” The alert can be found here. If you have questions about the alert, please call Bar Counsel’s ethics helpline at (617) 728-8750.
The Board of Bar Overseers is now live-streaming oral arguments (appeals) to the Board. Members of the public, members of the bar, and attorneys who represent individuals before the BBO are encouraged to watch via the links on our calendar of events. Arguments typically are held on the second Monday of each month, begin at 4:00 PM, and last thirty minutes. They are not recorded or otherwise preserved.
Effective December 1, 2024, the BBO has amended certain of its rules effecting practice before the board. The rules pertain to motion practice, the procedure to challenge admonitions, pro hac vice practice before the board, service of process via email, recusal by board members in certain matters, and the procedure for remote meetings. The amended rules may be found here.
Bar Counsel is seeking an experienced attorney to help us investigate and, when appropriate, prosecute alleged violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct at both trial and appellate levels, and also educate the Bar on the ethics rules. Please click here to learn more about this opportunity and how to apply.
Pursuant to Matter of Olchowski, 485 Mass 807, 36 Mass. Att’y Disc. R. 345 (2020), the Board of Bar Overseers has posted the names of persons and entities whose funds, previously held by a Massachusetts attorney, are now in the possession of the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee (MIC). The funds were transferred to the MIC because the attorney holding the funds could not locate the owner. To review the list of persons and entities, and instructions for claiming those funds, click here.
Effective September 1, 2024, bar counsel will no longer be accepting applications to transfer unclaimed or unidentified client funds to the Massachusetts IOLTA Committee (MIC). As of that date, the new provisions of Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.15(h) and (i) permit attorneys to apply directly to the MIC to transfer such funds. For further information, please see “January 2024 Update to: Unidentified and Unclaimed Funds in IOLTA Accounts May Result in Public Discipline”, or refer to the MIC.
The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has issued an order repealing SJC Rule 3:16, effective August 14, 2024, thereby removing the requirement that all persons admitted to the bar of the Commonwealth complete a mandatory Practicing with Professionalism Course within eighteen months of admission. For full details, see the SJC's press release: Supreme Judicial Court Repeals Rule 3:16 Requiring Newly Admitted Lawyers to Complete Practicing with Professionalism Course
In May 2024, after a national search, the Board of Bar Overseers was pleased to announce the appointment of Richard C. Abati as the next bar counsel, effective June 3, 2024. Abati joined the Office of Bar Counsel in 2010 as an Assistant Bar Counsel and was promoted to First Assistant Bar Counsel in 2020. He has served as Acting Bar Counsel since 2023.
The board of bar overseers is seeking lawyers to serve for terms that commence on July 1, 2024. Information and application materials may be found here. Questions may be directed to the general counsel of the board, Joseph Berman, at BoardRecruiting@massbbo.org or by phone at (617) 728-8700.
The board has proposed a rules change to the SJC to change the name from board of bar overseers to board of bar oversight. The reasons for the request are set for in the attached document.
The Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court has retained Koya Partners, the executive search firm that works exclusively with mission-driven clients, to lead this search. In partnership with Koya, we are now identifying and recruiting exceptional candidates.
The Bar Counsel position profile can be found here. To suggest leaders as potential candidates, you can contact our Koya team directly at BBO_BarCounsel@koyapartners.com. We would also appreciate it if you would thoughtfully forward this along in your networks.
Bar counsel's Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2023 is now available on the Annual Reports page of the BBO website. The report describes the ways in which the OBC delivered on its mission to protect the public and promote professionalism for the period beginning July 1, 2022, and ending June 30, 2023.
The Board of Bar Overseers is now accepting applications from attorneys and members of the public (non-attorneys) to fill Hearing Officer vacancies. The deadline for submitting applications is December 22, 2023. To apply, lawyers must submit a resume and letter of interest. Non-lawyers must submit a resume and must complete an application. Applications, more details, and other important information are all available at https://www.massbbo.org/volunteer.
The Board of Bar Overseers has partnered with Koya Partners, the executive search firm that works exclusively with mission-driven clients on the search for our next Executive Director. In partnership with Koya, we are now identifying and recruiting exceptional candidates. The Position Profile can be found here. To suggest leaders as potential candidates, you can contact our Koya team directly at BBO_ED@koyapartners.com.
More information can be found here.
The Board of Bar Overseers seeks attorneys to represent lawyers on a pro bono or reduced fee basis in disciplinary cases. Interested applicants should send a letter of interest and resume here.
The Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court invite interested attorneys to apply for appointment to the Board of Bar Overseers for a four-year term (July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2026). Information on the position and how to apply is available here.
The Office of the Bar Counsel, the Board of Bar Overseers, and participating bar associations are co-sponsoring a free one-hour program on trust account record keeping. The program will provide guidance for attorneys, paralegals, bookkeepers, or other law office support staff interested in receiving training on the requirements of Mass. R. Prof. C. 1.15, as revised effective July 1, 2015. You can learn more about the program here and download a PDF of the class materials here.