MARCH 2022

OARC Update

A bimonthly newsletter of the
Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel

CALL TO ACTION 

Demographic survey deadline extended

The deadline to respond to the online demographic survey has been extended. If you have not yet completed this voluntary and anonymous survey, please do so by Thursday, March 31.  The survey results help us better understand the demographics of the legal profession in Colorado. Completing the survey takes less than two minutes. To take the survey, click here: http://www.coloradosupremecourt.com/demographicsurvey.htm 

If you’re interested in the results, watch for a blast email later this spring with a link to our Office’s 2021 Annual Report, which will include the demographic survey results and other data about Colorado’s attorney regulation system.  

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

In this month’s What You Need to Know, we profile the recent amendment to Rule 3.8(d).

Court Revises Colo. RPC 3.8(d) Regarding Prosecutors’ Duties

The Colorado Supreme Court has revised Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 3.8(d) concerning the special duties of prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence.  The changes take effect July 1, 2022. 

We previously included information about the proposed changes in our November 2021 newsletter

After receiving public comments and holding a public hearing, the Court issued a revised rule February 24, 2022.  The changes include the following:  

  • Prosecutors will be required to timely disclose to the defense all information, regardless of admissibility, that the prosecutor knows or reasonably should know tends to negate the guilt of the accused, mitigate the offense, or would affect a defendant’s decision about whether to accept a plea disposition.  This information would include all unprivileged and unprotected mitigation information the prosecutor knows or reasonably should know could affect the sentence.  The “knows or reasonably should know” language previously has not been an express component of Colo. RPC 3.8(d).
  • An exception to this duty would exist when the prosecutor is relieved of this responsibility by statute, rule or protective order of the tribunal.  That provision is very similar to the current exception in Colo. RPC 3.8(d).
  • The revised rule expressly provides that a prosecutor would not be allowed to condition plea negotiations on postponing disclosure of information known to the prosecutor that negates the guilt of the accused.
  • The revision also adds a new component relating to diligence specific to prosecutors.  The prosecutor would be required to make diligent efforts to obtain information subject to this rule that the prosecutor knows or reasonably should know exists by making timely disclosure requests to agencies known to the prosecutor to be involved in the case, and alerting the defense to the information if the prosecution is unable to obtain it.

The Court’s rule change significantly revises Comment 3 to Colo. RPC 3.8(d) as well.
 
Finally, the Court added a new Comment 10 to Colo. RPC 3.8(d) to specify that “[t]he special responsibilities set forth in Rule 3.8 are in addition to a prosecutor’s ethical obligations contained in the other provisions of these Rules of Professional Conduct.”

SUPREME COURT ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR PRESIDING DISCIPLINARY JUDGE APPOINTMENT

The Colorado Supreme Court has announced three finalists for the appointment of the next Presiding Disciplinary Judge in light of the upcoming retirement of the Honorable William R. Lucero.  The Presiding Disciplinary Judge adjudicates attorney discipline and disability matters, unauthorized practice of law matters, and certain character and fitness admissions matters.  The list of finalists and the process for commenting can be found here.  

More information about the Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge can be found here.

INCREASE IN REQUESTS FOR INVESTIGATION

In 2021, the number of requests for investigation to our intake division increased by 11.4% from 3,424 to 3,816.  There also was an increase in matters processed to our trial division, from 239 matters processed in 2020 to 265 matters processed in 2021, an increase of 10.9%. Trust account notifications to the Office (when OARC is notified of an overdraft in a lawyer’s trust account) also increased from 91 in 2020 to 134 in 2021. At least part of the increase in requests for investigation may be attributed to the online complaint system that went live in spring 2020. We also expect that the pandemic, when everyone, including lawyers, was struggling to make adjustments to schedules, work locations and other life circumstances, impacted attorney-client relationships.
 
More information regarding the work we handled in 2021 will be available later this spring in our annual report.

FEBRUARY IN-PERSON EXAM AND SWEARING-IN CEREMONY

On February 22 and 23, the Colorado Bar Exam was administered live, for the first time since July 2020. 241 applicants sat for the exam. Exam results likely will be available on April 28. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on Monday, May 23 at 3:30 p.m. at Boettcher Concert Hall.

A PLAN FOR PRIORITIZING

While we often hear about prioritizing the most important areas of our lives, many of us could use a concrete plan for doing so. COLAP’s Assistant Director Amy Phillips discusses one such approach

ATTORNEY REGISTRATION

Need a receipt for your registration fees?
 
If you need a copy of your receipt for the 2022 attorney registration fees paid, please log into the online system at Colorado Supreme Court Payment System - Login (sbgvt.com). Once you login, you will be prompted to print a receipt. Receipts will only be available until April 30, 2022. This is only if you paid online. All others requests for receipts should be emailed to attorney_registration@coloradosupremecourt.com.
 
Admitted after December 1, 2021?
 
Attorneys admitted on or after December 1, 2021, do not need to register or pay fees for the 2022 attorney registration renewal.

REMINDERS & UPCOMING CLEs

APRIL
 
April 1 application deadline for July 2022 bar exam
 
April 1 $150 late fee applies to attorney registrations after this date
 
April 13 Succession Planning and File Retention, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Colorado chapter (Jonathan White)
 
April 13 Ethics Issues for Immigration Lawyers, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Colorado chapter (Alan Obye)
 
April 20 Ethics Updates and New CLE Requirements, Lincoln Center, Fort Collins (Jessica Yates)
 
April 20 Rule Requirements and Best Practices for Fee Agreements, Lincoln Center, Fort Collins (April McMurrey)
 
April 28 February 2022 bar exam results scheduled to be posted
 
April 30 Last day to pay registration fee with late charges to avoid administrative suspension
 
 
MAY
 
May 1 LATE application filing deadline for July 2022 bar exam
 
May 6 New Ethics Requirements for Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity, Annual Appellate Conference, Virtual (Jessica Yates)
 
May 6 Ethics Presentation to Colorado Rural Electric Association (Jessica Yates)

 
Copyright © 2022 Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, Colorado Supreme Court, All rights reserved.

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