Category: Rules of Professional Conduct

Posted: December 18, 2020

Utah Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice: Office of Professional Conduct, Rules Governing the Utah State Bar, and Rules Governing Licensed Paralegal Practitioners – Effective December 15, 2020

The final rule changes reflect the recommended reforms to lawyer discipline and disability proceedings and sanctions contained in the American Bar Association/Office of Professional Conduct Committee’s Summary of Recommendations (October 2018).

Adoption of Chapter 11 article 5 rules:

General provisions

CJA11-0501. Lawyer disciplinary and disability proceedings: purpose, authority, scope, and structure.
CJA11-0502. Definitions.
CJA11-0503. Oversight Committee for the Office of Professional Conduct.
CJA11-0504. Jurisdiction.
CJA11-0505. Statute of limitations.

Ethics and Discipline Committee

CJA11-0510. Ethics and Discipline Committee composition.
CJa11-0511. Screening panel composition; responsibilities.
CJA11-0512. Respondent subpoena petitions.
CJA11-0513. Committee clerk.
CJA11-0514. Disclosure, recusal, and disqualification.

Office of Professional Conduct composition and responsibilities

CJA11-0520. Chief Disciplinary Counsel and OPC counsel.
CJA11-0521. OPC prosecutorial powers and duties.
CJA11-0522. Ethics advisory opinions.
CJA11-0523. OPC investigative subpoenas.
CJA11-0524. Retaining records.

Prosecution and appeals

CJA11-0530. Unprofessional conduct Complaints.
CJA11-0531. Proceedings before Committee and screening panels.
CJA11-0532. Exceptions to screening panel determinations and recommendations.
CJA11-0533. General procedures.
CJA11-0534. Final Committee disposition.
CJA11-0535. Appealing a final Committee determination to the Supreme Court.
CJA11-0536. Actions in district court.
CJA11-0537. Failure to answer charges.
CJA11-0538. Appointment of trustee to protect clients’ interest when Lawyer disappears, dies, is suspended or delicensed, or is transferred to disability status.
CJA11-0539. Costs.
CJA11-0540. Immunity from civil suits.
CJA11-0541. Service.
CJA11-0542. Additional rules of procedure.

Diversion

CJA11-0550. Diversion referrals, authority, and responsibilities.
CJA11-0551. Circumstances warranting diversion.
CJA11-0552. Diversion contract.
CJA11-0553. Respondent’s participation in diversion.
CJA11-0554. Terminating diversion.
CJA11-0555. Diversion Costs.

Discipline

CJA11-0560. Grounds for discipline.
CJA11-0561. Accessing disciplinary information.
CJA11-0562. Disseminating disciplinary information.
CJA11-0563. Interim discipline for threat of harm.
CJA11-0564. Finding of guilt or entry of a plea to a crime.
CJA11-0565. Discipline by consent.
CJA11-0566. Resignation with discipline pending.

CJA11-0567. Reciprocal discipline.
CJA11-0568. Proceedings in which Lawyer is declared to be incompetent or alleged to be incapacitated.
CJA11-0569. Noncompliance with child support order, child visitation order, subpoena or order relating to paternity, or child support proceeding.
CJA11-0570. Notice of disability or suspension; return of clients’ property; refund of unearned fees.

Sanctions

CJA11-0580. Purpose and nature of sanctions.
CJA11-0581. Sanctions.
CJA11-0582. Factors to be considered in imposing sanctions.
CJA11-0583. Imposition of Sanctions.
CJA11-0584. Reserved.
CJA11-0585. Reserved.
CJA11-0586. Reserved.
CJA11-0587. Prior discipline orders.
CJA11-0588. Aggravation and mitigation.

Reinstatement

CJA11-0590. Reinstatement following a suspension of no more than six months or probation.
CJA11-0591. Reinstatement following a suspension of more than six months; relicensure.

Repeal:

Repeal of Chapter 14 articles 5 and 6

Repeal of Chapter 15 articles 5 and 6

Repeal of Rule 11-501

Amending rules:

USB14-0102 . Regulating the practice of law.
USB14-0103. Bar organization and management.
USB14-0105. Proposing rules to regulate licensed lawyers,
licensed paralegal practitioners, and judicial officers.
USB14-0107. Duties of lawyers, foreign legal consultants,
and licensed paralegal practitioners.
USB14-0111. Practicing without a license prohibited.
USB14-0202. Bar’s purposes.
USB14-0207. Finances.
USB14-0208. Special rules and regulations.
USB14-0801. Definitions.
USB14-0904. Funding.
USB14-0912. Processing claims.
URGLPP15-0402. Definitions.
URGLPP15-0701. Definitions.

Supreme Court Order for adoption of Chapter 11, article 5 rules and repeal of Chapter 14, articles 5 and 6 and Chapter 15, articles 5 and 6

Supreme Court Order for amended Chapter 14 rules

Supreme Court Order for amended Chapter 15 rules

Posted: September 1, 2020

Supreme Court Regulatory Reform – Revised – Effective August 31, 2020

Shortly after the Supreme Court adopted Rules 5.4A and 5.4B of the Rules of Professional Conduct, it became evident that the fee-splitting and fee-sharing provisions of Rule 5.4A should be included in the Sandbox envisioned by Rule 5.4B and Standing Order 15. In response to input from the Bar Commission and others, the Supreme Court unanimously voted to make the necessary changes.

The relevant provisions of Rules 5.4A and 5.4B have been combined into Rule 5.4. Rules 5.4A and 5.4B are repealed effective immediately. Combined Rule 5.4 and revised Standing Order 15 are adopted effective immediately.

Repealed Rules

RPC Rule 5.4A

RPC Rule 5.4B

Combined Rule and Revised Standing Order

Redline Combined RPC Rule 5.4

Clean Combined RPC Rule 5.4

Redline Revised Utah Supreme Court Standing Order No. 15

Clean Revised Utah Supreme Court Standing Order No. 15

Supreme Court Order

Posted: August 13, 2020

Supreme Court Regulatory Reform-Effective August 14, 2020

The Utah Supreme Court approves the following regulatory reform efforts effective August 14, 2020. Please see https://utahinnovationoffice.org/ and the press release for more information.

Supreme Court Standing Order

Standing Order 15: This order establishes a pilot legal regulatory sandbox and an Office of Legal Services Innovation to assist the Utah Supreme Court with respect to overseeing and regulating the practice of law by nontraditional legal service providers or by traditional providers offering nontraditional legal services.

Rules of Professional Conduct

Rules Governing the Professional Independence of a Lawyer: The Supreme Court repeals former Rule 5.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct and replaces it with Rules 5.4A and 5.4B.

Rule 5.4A: This rule governs lawyers delivering legal services in the traditional and conventional model. New Rule 5.4A(a) outlines the foremost duties of a lawyer – the duty of independence of judgment, duty of loyalty to the client, and duty of confidentiality – applicable to the rest of the Rule. The preeminence of these professional core values is further explained in new Comments [1] and [2] as they pertain to sharing fees with nonlawyers, with lawyers in a separate firm, and accepting referrals and payments from parties other than the client. In order to loosen the restriction on fee sharing, Rule 5.4A(b) allows a lawyer to share legal fees with a nonlawyer as long as written notice is given at the outset of the representation or before sharing fees from an existing client.
Rule 1.5: Paragraph (e) of this rule has been eliminated to allow dividing fees among lawyers who are not in the same firm.
Rule 5.4B: This rule is applicable to lawyers participating in the pilot legal regulatory sandbox. Like Rule 5.4A, the core professional values for lawyers underlying this rule are stated at the outset under subsection (a). Comments [1] and [2] reiterate and clarify the importance of the underlying core values and duties of a lawyer, notwithstanding the novel arrangement with nonlawyers. Rule 5.4B(b) allows a lawyer to practice law in an organization that is managed or owned, in whole or in part, by nonlawyers, as long as (i) the client is given written notice that nonlawyers have a financial interest in the organization or nonlawyers have managerial authority over the lawyer, and (ii) the client receives in writing the financial or managerial structure of the organization.

Lawyer Advertising Rules: The Supreme Court significantly simplified the lawyer advertising rules in the Rules of Professional Conduct. Rules 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 have been repealed and replaced with new Rule 7.1. Notably, this change eliminates the prohibition against in-person solicitation found previously in Rule 7.3.

Rule 7.1: Prohibits (i) making false and misleading claims about the lawyer or the lawyer’s services, and (ii) interacting in a way that involves coercion, duress, or harassment.

Redline and Clean Rules

Redline Rule 5.4A

Clean Rule 5.4A

Redline Rule 5.4B

Clean Rule 5.4B

Redline Rule 1.5

Clean Rule 1.5

Redline Rules 7.1 through 7.5

Clean Rules Rules 7.1 through 7.5

Supreme Court Order

Link to Revised Regulatory Reform Rules