Criminal defense attorneys pore over police officers' work to make sure they dot every "i" and cross every "t."

But who polices the lawyers?

That would be the Colorado Supreme Court's office of the Attorney Regulation Counsel. It makes sure Colorado's estimated 34,000 attorneys are following the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct.

Got a beef that your attorney ignores your calls for weeks? Call the ARC. Want to know if the attorney you're thinking about hiring to handle your divorce has ever been disciplined? Visit the ARC Web site.

"Our No. 1 goal is to protect the public," said John Gleason, head of the ARC office. "Our No. 2 goal is to serve the public."

Gleason said the most frequent complaints include accusations of attorneys mishandling money, attorneys getting convicted of crimes or attorneys with drug, alcohol or mental health issues.

The counsel recently disciplined two Colorado Springs attorneys.

Criminal defense attorney Lari Trogani began serving a three-month suspension Jan. 31 after the counsel determined she "knowingly misstated and withheld information" from a district court judge and "disobeyed an order" from a county court judge while trying to push through a plea agreement.

She'll be on probation for two years. The counsel said the punishment would have been worse, but in almost 20 years of a "high volume practice," she had never gone before the counsel's judge.

"Purposeful deception by an attorney is intolerable, even when it is undertaken as part of attempting to achieve what the attorney believes is the greater good," the counsel's opinion states.

Another longtime criminal defense attorney, Terry McGannon, is midway through a two-year suspension of his law license. McGannon pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine after police alleged he took more than 25 grams of meth for payment from one of his clients.

For his criminal conviction, he served 90 days in jail and got 15 years' probation with 1,000 hours of community service.

"It was the best thing that ever happened to me," McGannon said of the counsel's work. He admitted he was hooked on methamphetamine.

Complaints against attorneys don't become public record until they go before William Lucero, the presiding disciplinary judge.

Michael Gross, a Colorado Springs attorney who defends lawyers facing complaints before the counsel, said that's the way it needs to be because many clients complain simply because their lawyer lost.

"You don't want a good lawyer's reputation hurt by the fact they've been in the system or are in it now," Gross said.

Gleason touts the ease with which the system can be used by clients.

"Other states cringe," Gleason said "when I tell them here you can make a complaint about a lawyer by picking up the phone."

Contact the writer: dennis.huspeni@gazette.com or 636-0110.