Washington,D.c,-,January,15,,2025:,Senate,Judiciary,Committee,Considers

ETHICS COMPLAINT

LDAD Calls on Florida Supreme Court to Order State Bar Investigation of A.G. Pam Bondi

June 28, 2021

Jul 15, 2025

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

LDAD and other advocates for the rule of law have asked the Florida Supreme Court to order The Florida Bar to follow its own rules and fully investigate claims that Pamela Bondi, who is a member of the Bar and the Attorney General of the United States, has acted unethically. The advocates have filed a petition for a writ of mandamus for this purpose.

The filing comes after The Florida Bar rejected a complaint submitted last month by Florida lawyer Jon May and joined by LDAD, Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF), Lawyers for the Rule of Law, and a group of 70 prominent attorneys, law professors, and former judges. The complaint urged an investigation and appropriate sanctions against Bondi for engaging in professional misconduct that threatens the rule of law and the administration of justice.

It details how Ms. Bondi has sought to compel Department of Justice lawyers to violate their ethical obligations under the guise of “zealous advocacy,” as announced in her memorandum to all department employees on her first day in office. That memorandum threatens lawyers with discipline and possible termination for falling short, even though the rules of professional conduct limit the “zeal” of attorneys to “lawful and ethical measures.” The complaint focuses on three cases in which department lawyers were terminated or forced to resign as a result of demands that they act unethically, either by Ms. Bondi or a member of her senior management team.

Jamie Conrad, a volunteer with Lawyers Defending American Democracy and co-author of the complaint and the petition, said: “Attorney General Bondi and her team cannot be allowed to operate the Justice Department free from compliance with the same ethics rules applicable to all other lawyers. The AG frequently states that ‘no one is above the law.’ The Florida Bar needs to demonstrate that this includes her.”

More details on our ethics complaint can be found here.