Sidney Powell can still practice law. As of early 2026, her Texas law license remains active, she has defeated both attempts by the Texas State Bar to discipline her, and the presidential pardon she received in November 2025 does not change her bar status in any meaningful way. A separate disciplinary proceeding in Michigan is unresolved and is the only live threat to her ability to practice.
Her Current License Status
Powell is licensed in Texas, and that license is in good standing. The State Bar’s Commission for Lawyer Discipline pursued her on two separate tracks after the 2020 election litigation and her Georgia criminal case. Both failed. No suspension, no disbarment, no compulsory discipline order is in place against her.
She is not licensed in Michigan, which is where a federal judge sanctioned her and eight other attorneys in August 2021 for what the court called “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.”1The New York Times. Judge Orders Sanctions Against Pro-Trump Lawyers Over Election Lawsuit Those sanctions were monetary and were left in place when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a further appeal in February 2024.2JURIST. US Supreme Court Rejects Appeal From Trump-Affiliated Attorneys in Michigan Sanctions Case Court sanctions and bar discipline are different things. The first is a court penalty in a specific case; the second is what determines whether a lawyer keeps a license.
Why Both Texas Disciplinary Cases Failed
The Commission for Lawyer Discipline first went after Powell over the election lawsuits themselves, alleging she filed frivolous claims, made false statements to a court, and engaged in dishonest conduct. Powell won at the trial court on summary judgment. In April 2024, the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals affirmed, finding that the bar had presented no evidence Powell knowingly asserted incorrect facts in her election filings.3Justia. Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Sidney Powell
The knowledge requirement is what carried the day. The bar had to show Powell knew her claims were false, not merely that they turned out to be baseless. That is a higher bar than many people assume, and it is where most disciplinary cases built on litigation conduct come apart.
The second track was compulsory discipline based on Powell’s Georgia guilty plea. Under Texas rules, an attorney convicted of a “serious crime” can face automatic suspension. In January 2025, the Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals ruled that the misdemeanors Powell pleaded to in Georgia do not qualify as “serious crimes” under Texas disciplinary rules, and denied the petition for compulsory discipline.4Board of Disciplinary Appeals. Judgment Denying Compulsory Discipline – Sidney Powell
Powell pleaded guilty in October 2023 to six misdemeanor counts of conspiring to intentionally interfere with the performance of election duties, tied to a scheme to access voting equipment in Coffee County, Georgia. She received six years of probation, a $6,000 fine, and $2,700 in restitution, and she agreed to cooperate as a witness.5Georgia Recorder. ‘Kraken’ Trump Lawyer Sidney Powell Flipped Her Plea to Guilty in 2020 Election RICO Case
Why the Trump Pardon Does Not Change This
In November 2025, President Trump pardoned Powell along with dozens of others tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.6NPR. Trump Grants Pardons to Dozens Linked to 2020 Election Efforts For Powell, the pardon was largely symbolic. She was never charged with a federal crime, and a presidential pardon does not reach state cases. Her Georgia guilty plea and probation are untouched by it.
A pardon also does not shield an attorney from bar discipline. Disciplinary proceedings and criminal cases run on separate tracks. A pardon removes the punishment for a crime; it does not erase the underlying conduct. The D.C. Court of Appeals publicly censured a pardoned attorney in a well-known case, holding that the pardon “could not and did not require the court to close its eyes to the fact that [the attorney] did what he did.”7EveryCRSReport.com. The President’s Pardon Power and Legal Effects on Collateral Consequences Bar authorities can still weigh the conduct itself when assessing a lawyer’s fitness.
What Could Still Change Her Status
Two things remain open.
The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission filed a complaint against Powell and the other eight attorneys from the election lawsuit and recommended discipline. Those proceedings are handled by the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board and, as of early 2026, public records do not show a final resolution. Powell is not licensed in Michigan, which limits what the Board can do directly, but Michigan can adjudicate the misconduct that happened in its courts and forward its findings to the states where the attorneys are licensed.
That is where reciprocal discipline comes in. When an attorney is disciplined in one state, other states where the attorney holds a license can impose matching consequences. The default rule in most jurisdictions is that the receiving state will impose the same discipline unless a narrow exception applies, such as a serious due process failure in the original proceeding or a result that would be deeply unjust under local rules.8American Bar Association. Model Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement – Rule 22 In Texas, an attorney disciplined by another jurisdiction must report the discipline to the chief disciplinary counsel within 30 days, and Texas can then file its own petition seeking matching discipline. A Michigan finding against Powell could put the reciprocal question back on the Texas bar’s desk, though the outcome of the earlier Texas proceedings suggests any such attempt would face a hard climb.
The second open issue is her Georgia probation, which runs through 2029. If Powell completes the terms, the conviction will be sealed from her criminal record. If she violates them, the conduct could reopen the question of whether her offense qualifies as a “serious crime” for compulsory discipline in Texas. For now, none of that has happened. She retains the right to practice.