New Flat Fee Rule and Form Agreement
Need help with a flat fee agreement? Recently, the Colorado Supreme Court adopted Rule Change 2019(05), which amends Rule 1.5 and Comments to the Rule, and now includes a Form Flat Fee Agreement. Details regarding the rule change can be found on the Court’s website: Rule Change 2019(05) Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct. An editable version of the Form Flat Fee Agreement can be found here: Colo. RPC 1.5 Fees - Form Flat Fee Agreement.
Proposed rule change to RPC 8.4 Misconduct
The Colorado Supreme Court has proposed an amendment to Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4 to add a new subsection (i), along with a new comment, to specifically address sexual harassment that occurs in connection with a lawyer's professional activities. The Supreme Court is currently accepting comments from lawyers and the public. Jessica Yates, Attorney Regulation Counsel, discusses the extent to which the Rules of Professional Conduct already cover sexual harassment, and the potential impact of the proposed amendment to 8.4: Sexual Harassment and the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Succession planning for the future
Do you know who to approach to act as an assisting attorney and who should have authority to access your trust account if you become disabled? Although succession planning may sound like a daunting subject, our first article in a multi-part series aims to help you take basic steps today that will make the process easier: Steps You Can Take Now to Lay the Foundation for Succession Planning.
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CALL TO ACTION FOR TWO MINUTES OR LESS
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One hour a month provides 324,000 hours of help a year
Wondering how you can help with the access to justice crisis? Looking for a way to give back to the community and meet like-minded lawyers? Hoping to reconnect to the service aspect of the legal profession? Volunteering at legal clinics can check all of these boxes, and for as little as one hour a month, you can provide legal services to clients who otherwise would not have access to a lawyer. Colorado has approximately 27,000 active lawyers. If each active lawyer devoted one hour a month to a legal clinic, we could provide a total of 324,000 hours of pro bono legal services each year!
Where do I start?
To encourage lawyers to participate in clinics, and allay some common fears about the application of the Rules of Professional Conduct in clinic settings, the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel partnered with the Colorado Access to Justice Commission and the Denver Bar Association-Access to Justice Committee to produce “Justice For All: Pro Bono Legal Clinics and Ethical Considerations.”
Where can I go for more information?
We’ve also developed an FAQ and resources page to address common questions about limited representation in clinic settings. For more information, please visit our website: Pro Bono Legal Clinics. Thank you in advance for answering this call to action!
Volunteering helps our office, too
In addition to our staff, our office relies on volunteer committee members, including non-lawyers, to provide oversight for the rules, procedures and matters concerning attorney admission, registration, and regulation, as well as the unauthorized practice of law. This month we launched an online application to make it convenient to apply to join one of our boards or committees.
Where can I go for more information?
We are recruiting new members of the Character and Fitness Committee, and also are accepting applications on a rolling basis for any of the boards and committees supported by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel. For a description of each board and committee, as well as the online application, please visit our website: Colorado Supreme Court Committees.
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PERSONS AND BUSINESSES ORDERED TO STOP ENGAGING IN THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW
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Patent law service company engaged in UPL
Can an unlicensed person own and operate a company that advertises and provides patent law services? The answer is “no”, based on the case of People v. Dak Steiert and Intelligent Patent Services, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company, 17SA214.
On February 6, 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the Report of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, acting as Hearing Master, which recommended that Dak Steiert and his company be enjoined from further unauthorized practice of law in Colorado and be ordered to pay restitution, a fine and costs.
Luis Lobo enjoined from Unauthorized Practice of Law
Luis Lobo has been ordered by the Colorado Supreme Court to stop engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. Mr. Lobo, who is not licensed to practice law in Colorado or any other jurisdiction, admitted to having practiced immigration law on four separate occasions. He stipulated to the entry of the Supreme Court’s Order, issued March 14, 2019. He will repay the fees he charged his customers, with interest, and pay costs of $1,044. For more information, go to the list of enjoined persons at UPL Persons and Businesses Enjoined and click on Luis Lobo (17SA296).
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The attorney registration deadline and February 2019 bar exam have come and gone. However, if you are not up-to-date with your CLE or attorney registration, or if you plan to sit for the July 2019 bar exam, keep in mind the following important dates:
April 1: Application deadline for July 2019 bar exam.
April 1: $200.00 late fee applies to attorney registrations on or after this date.
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OARC CLEs & OFFICE PRESENTATIONS
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MARCH
Mar. 5 Colorado's New Rule 1.5(h) -- Flat Fees, Immigration Law Section, Colorado Bar Association, CBA-CLE in Denver, CO (Bryon Large).
Mar. 11 Colorado's New Rule 1.5(h) -- Flat Fees, Colorado Bar Association, CBA-CLE in Denver, CO (Bryon Large).
Mar. 12 Attorney Professionalism and Success: Issues in Attorney Ethics and Regulation, First Judicial District Bar Association, Jefferson County Courthouse, Lookout Mountain Room in Golden, CO (Erin Kristofco).
Mar. 14 Criminal Law Spring Update -- Tools for Effective, Efficient, and Extraordinary Lawyers, CBA-CLE, in Denver, CO (Erin Kristofco).
Mar. 18 Colorado's New Rule 1.5(h) -- Flat Fees, El Paso County Bar Association, Jack Quinn's Irish Pub in Colorado Springs, CO (Bryon Large).
Mar. 28 Practicing with Professionalism, CBA-CLE in Denver, CO.
APRIL
Apr. 3 Dan Vigil's DU Law Legal Ethics class, Sturm College of Law in Denver, CO (Jessica Yates and Sarah Myers, COLAP).
Apr. 3 How to Avoid the Unauthorized Practice of Law, Boulder County Bar Association Paralegal Section, in Boulder, CO (April McMurrey).
Apr. 3 Introduction to Modern Representation, the University of Colorado Boulder, in Boulder, CO (Jonathan White).
Apr. 4 Melanie Kay's Legal Ethics and Professionalism class, the University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder, CO (April McMurrey).
Apr. 12 Trust Account School taught by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and open to all attorneys and legal staff.
Apr. 17 Larimer County Ethics/Professionalism seminar in Fort Collins, CO (Jessica Yates).
Apr. 23 Professor Huang's class, the University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder, CO (Jessica Yates and Sarah Myers, COLAP).
Apr. 24 Practicing with Professionalism, CBA-CLE in Denver, CO.
Apr. 26 Why Family Law Attorneys are the Target of More Grievances, How to Avoid Being Grieved, and How to Respond, Family Law Conference, CBA-CLE in Denver, CO (Jessica Yates).
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