# Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board *Minnesota body in the attorney-discipline system, whose members are appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court and whose investigations are carried out by volunteer District Ethics Committees.* The Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board is a Minnesota body in the system that disciplines licensed attorneys. It has 23 members, 14 attorneys and 9 non-lawyers, who serve without pay.[^1] The [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] appoints them.[^2] By the Board's own account of its process, it does not investigate complaints itself. Volunteer [[District Ethics Committees]] investigate, and their recommendations are non-binding.[^1] Carver County's official biography of its [[county attorney]], Mark Metz, says he was "elected Carver County Attorney since 2011" and "reelected to his fourth term in 2022." It also describes him as "an ethics investigator for the Lawyer's Board of Professional Responsibility."[^3] The sources in the record do not establish when he served or on which committee. The Board's annual reports carry District Ethics Committee rosters.[^4] ## Who The Minnesota Supreme Court appoints the Board's members and publishes notice of vacancies on the Board.[^2] Of the 23 members, 14 are attorneys and 9 are non-lawyers. None is paid for the service.[^1] The Board's process is set out in the Minnesota Supreme Court's professional-regulation rules.[^5] The District Ethics Committees do the investigating. The court appoints their chairs. Members serve three-year terms, for up to twelve years in total. In the Board's words, "Public members (non-lawyers) fill at least 20 percent of DEC seats."[^1] The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility reviews the committees' recommendations.[^1] Two other bodies also regulate the profession in Minnesota. The State Board of Law Examiners administers bar admission.[^7] The Board on Continuing Legal Education operates under rules of the Minnesota Supreme Court.[^8] ## What The Board is part of Minnesota's attorney-discipline system.[^6] The process ends in one of two forms of discipline. Private discipline is an admonition or probation. Public discipline is imposed through the Minnesota Supreme Court.[^1] ## How A District Ethics Committee investigates a referred complaint and makes a non-binding recommendation. The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility then reviews it.[^1] The Board does not run the investigation.[^1] Findings typically issue within six to seven months.[^1] The Supreme Court's professional-regulation rules establish this structure.[^5] ## How many - 23 Board members: 14 attorneys and 9 non-lawyers, all unpaid.[^1] - At least 20 percent of District Ethics Committee seats go to public, non-lawyer members.[^1] - Committee members serve three-year terms, for up to twelve years in total.[^1] - Findings typically take six to seven months.[^1] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record includes one entry on the Board. It states three things: - Minnesota investigates attorney-conduct complaints through unpaid volunteers drawn from the profession under investigation. - The Board has 23 Supreme Court–appointed members and does not itself investigate; volunteer District Ethics Committees do, and their recommendations are non-binding. - Carver County's chief prosecutor served as one of those volunteer investigators. The entry rests on the Board's process page and the county's biography.[^1][^3] The at-issue record pairs it with the 2026 presidential action establishing a Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.[^9] The project's claim:link record also sets the Board beside *North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC*, 574 U.S. 494 (2015). In that case the U.S. Supreme Court held that a non-sovereign actor controlled by active market participants must be actively supervised to enjoy state-action immunity.[^10] Attorneys hold 14 of the Board's 23 seats.[^1] No court finding in the record applies that holding to the Board. On January 14, 2026, the [[United States Department of Justice]] issued release No. 26-21. It is titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the case as a matter of general public importance.[^11] The record does not connect the Board to that suit. ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - The Board's 23 members are appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court.[^2] - Mark Metz, Carver County Attorney since 2011, is described in the county's official biography as "an ethics investigator for the Lawyer's Board of Professional Responsibility."[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board, *Discipline System & Process* (undated) — 23 members appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court, 14 attorneys and 9 non-lawyers, without compensation; the Board does not investigate; volunteer District Ethics Committees with court-appointed chairs, three-year terms up to twelve years, public members at least 20 percent of seats; non-binding recommendations reviewed by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility; findings typically within six to seven months; private or public discipline. https://lprb.mncourts.gov/about/the-discipline-process/ [^2]: Minnesota Judicial Branch, *Supreme Court announces vacancies on the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board* (undated) — the Supreme Court fills Board seats. https://mncourts.gov/about-the-courts/newsandannouncements/supreme-court-announces-vacancies-on-the-lawyers-professional-responsibility-board [^3]: Carver County, *Mark Metz, County Attorney* (official biography, undated) — county attorney since 2011, reelected to a fourth term in 2022; described as an ethics investigator for the Board. https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/county-attorney/mark-metz-county-attorney [^4]: Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board, *2022 Annual Report* (posted May 2024) — the Board's annual report, the document type that carries District Ethics Committee rosters. https://lprb.mncourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2022-Annual-Report.pdf [^5]: Minnesota Supreme Court, *Rules on Lawyers Professional Responsibility* (professional-regulation rules, PDF, undated) — the rules governing the discipline system. https://mncourts.gov/_media/migration/appellate/supreme-court/professional-regulation-rules/rlpr.pdf [^6]: Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board, *Official website* (undated) — the Board's role in attorney discipline. https://lprb.mncourts.gov/ [^7]: Minnesota State Board of Law Examiners, *Official website* (undated) — bar-admission framework. https://ble.mn.gov/ [^8]: Minnesota State Board on Continuing Legal Education, *Rules of the Board on Continuing Legal Education* (current) — Minnesota Supreme Court rules governing the CLE Board. https://www.mbcle.state.mn.us/rules/ [^9]: The White House, *Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud* (presidential action, 2026) — the action the at-issue record pairs with the Board entry. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/establishing-the-task-force-to-eliminate-fraud/ [^10]: Supreme Court of the United States, *North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC*, 574 U.S. 494 (2015) — a non-sovereign actor controlled by active market participants must be actively supervised to enjoy state-action immunity. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/574/494/ [^11]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — title of the release; Attorney General Bondi's certification of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime