UPDATE: 11.10.25 – Folks – As I explained in this post, I am going to share ALL documents that bear on this story. Bar complaints, bar responses, pleadings, proof of lies, the whole ball of wax. I am going to share it ALL, as soon as I can, because this content will show exactly what I said – the conduct by the State Bar of Arizona was/is absolutely disgusting. Do you think I DON’T want to show you the proof? You’re damn right I do. And I’m not bluffing.
The gloves are off. No more playing nice. You will see it all. Every last page. Every lie. Every blind eye turned. So you can decide for yourself who the bad guys are. It isn’t a close call.
But I need time to put this together. Trust me – it is coming just as fast as I can put it all together. It will be worth the wait. Until then, let the tea brew. You shall taste the sweet goodness soon enough.
Until then, my original post is below —
Want to know what the State Bar of Arizona thinks ACCEPTABLE lawyer conduct looks like?
BOY, do I have a story for you…
It’s Monday. I was hosting family this weekend, so I’m a bit behind on my task list.
One item on that list is to explain why I think the State Bar of Arizona is broken/corrupt. That’s a fat allegation, so I should back it up with proof. Trust me – I can’t wait to do that.
This story is LONG, and I have bags of receipts. It also has nothing to do with a recent case I was involved with (OK, at least my view is not based entirely on that case, although it is part of a very sad and clear pattern).
I know people HATE long blog posts, so I’m not going to try to write one about this. This story will require a video (something I wasn’t free to work on over the weekend). There are so many documents involved, I need to organize them, upload them, and put them in an order that makes sense. The story involves more than a dozen lawsuits and TWO bar complaints, so the library of documents is MASSIVE.
Until then (which should happen this week), let me give you a VERY short preview — the story involved a lawyer named Andrew Ivchenko. Mr. Ivchenko went to EXTREME lengths to hide the fact that his wife was arrested for assaulting a police officer in Scottsdale. That arrest resulted in a fairly humiliating mugshot (shown below).
Mr. Ivchenko’s efforts to hide his wife’s mugshot included committing multiple state and federal crimes including filing a fraudulent copyright application with the U.S. Copyright Office (a federal crime). He also committed multiple acts of perjury (both federal and state crimes). The evidence of this was as black and white as it gets.
Mr. Ivchenko’s conduct was so extreme, and the evidence so clear, I determined I was ethically required to report his conduct to the State Bar of Arizona. In fact, in 20+ years of practicing law in Arizona, the was the first time I had filed a complaint against another attorney. And at that point, I had BEATEN Mr. Ivchenko in every case he filed, so it’s not like I lost the case, got mad, and retaliated against him with a bar complaint.
Here’s a copy of the complaint: https://gingraslaw.com/IvchenkoBarComplaint.pdf
Guess what happened?
The State Bar’s response was (in sum): “Sorry, we don’t care.”
They ignored overwhelming evidence that Mr. Ivchenko was ACTIVELY committing serious crimes. Crimes involving fraud, deceit, and dishonesty. Rather than focusing on the evidence, they ignored it. Instead, they claimed the AZ bar has a policy against investigating lawyers UNLESS a judge refers them or a criminal conviction has occurred. I later asked the bar to produce a copy of the “policy” they cited. They eventually admitted no written version existed. Gold standards, indeed.
Based on this fictional policy, my complaint against Mr. Ivchenko was dismissed with ZERO investigation. That ultimately gave Mr. Ivchenko a green light to move forward with additional illegal conduct, which he gleefully did (I will explain all of this in my next video).
But here is the most offensive part – after the AZ bar dismissed my complaint against Mr. Ivchenko, guess what happened? He filed a complaint against ME. Unlike my complaint against him, Mr. Ivchenko’s against me was 100% frivolous. Again, I will share a copy of the complaint he filed, and I will explain exactly what he claimed I did wrong in my next video.
Oh, but wait, it gets better – rather than applying the same fictional policy to me that it used to dismiss my complaint against Ivchenko, the AZ bar charged me with misconduct. Initially, after an ex parte hearing (one where I was not present) they concluded my conduct warranted the lowest level of punishment — basically a warning letter and a $600 fine.
I rejected that penalty and said: “Sorry, I’ll see you in court.” That led to months of litigation and thousands of dollars of bar resources wasted.
But thankfully the story had a partially happy ending – the AZ bar LOST (and the bar counsel who handled part of the case: our old friend Jim Lee). To be specific, after making an initial finding that I committed a hyper-technical violation of one rule (in an order that was later vacated) the bar dropped all charges against me. I was found guilty of ZERO misconduct.
Here’s a copy of the order GRANTING the bar’s motion to dismiss: https://gingraslaw.com/IvchenkoBarDismissal.pdf (please note the name of the bar counsel listed on the service page).
Even better, several years later a different AZ bar counsel asked the Arizona Supreme Court to add a comment to the ethical rule I was accused of violating. That comment explains the conduct I was accused of by Mr. Ivchenko and Mr. Lee was, in fact, not unethical at all.
Anyway, like I said, this story is LONG, but it is fascinating. I think if the public knew what the AZ bar did (both with my complaint against Ivchenko and Ivchenko’s complaint against me), people would be OUTRAGED.
The Arizona Bar will tell you that it exists to “protect the public”. I intend to test that claim by giving you ALL the sad, but true, facts in the story of Andrew and Renee Ivchenko. I personally think the story shows the Arizona Bar has lost its way. Protecting the public? More like defrauding the public.
More to come….soon.
Until then, since everyone loves bodycam footage, here’s a clip from the night Mrs. Ivchenko was arrested. And keep in mind — after Mrs. Ivchenko was arrested, Mr. Ivchenko sued my clients and demanded $1 million in the Complaint because he said his wife was “defamed” by my client publishing her mugshot and implying she was guilty of a crime….but he forgot to mention that she took a plea deal which involved her signing a statement admitting she was guilty of a felony (assault on a police officer).
Glad to know the AZ bar thinks lawyers like Mr. Ivchenko benefit the public, while lawyers like me deserve being kicked out.
