I would be surprised if the Bar doesn't "do anything about it."  However, the Bar is not there to help you collect from the attorney.  I would assume that they would have their ethics committee investigate and the attorney may be censured by the Bar.  That may prompt him to voluntarily pay you, but I think their advice to you is good advice.  It is a civil matter and you should probably treat it as such. 

I think to use a report to the Bar to your advantage, it would have been a good idea to draft a letter to the Bar and send it to the attorney with a note that if payment is not received within a reasonable time you will forward it to the Bar.  He may decide to pay you just to avoid the chance of censure (or worse).  However, if he is that far behind, he may not care anymore... he may already be in too deep anyway.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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