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 Help
wanted! The State Bar of California's Commission for the Revision of
the Rules of Professional Conduct wants a few good men and women to
provide, by written comment, suggestions for what changes to the Rules
of Professional Conduct should be studied.
In addition to reviewing the current rules,
multidisciplinary practice, multijurisdictional practice, discrete
task representation and pro per assistance are some of the other
topics to be considered by the commission. The State Bar reinstated
the commission to conduct a comprehensive study of the rules and to
recommend amendments.
The Rules of Professional Conduct are the State
Bar's attorney disciplinary standards, the violation of which will
subject an attorney to bar sanctions such as reproval, suspension or
disbarment. By statute (Bus. & Prof. Code §6076), the bar is
authorized to formulate rules of professional conduct that are
submitted to the California Supreme Court for approval. The new study
will enable the bar to review the results of the American Bar
Association's revision of its Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
The ABA's work to overhaul the Model Rules began in 1997 and likely
will be completed by August. Although California is not bound by the
model rules, the ABA's current effort is part of the commission's
charge.
The commission was first established in the late
1980s when it conducted a cover-to-cover study of California's
lawyer disciplinary rules which, at that time, had not been thoroughly
revised since 1975. The result of the commission's work included a
complete reorganization of rules with new chapters and numbering; the
addition of official discussion commentary to the rules; and new rules
on the sale of law practices, gifts from clients, organizations as
clients and third-party fee payers. When the commission completed its
work in 1991 it was not decommissioned; instead, it was put into deep
freeze until another comprehensive study was needed. That time arrived
last July when then-bar President Palmer Madden called for the
commission's reinstatement. The decision was made in consultation
with the Supreme Court, incoming State Bar President Karen Nobumoto
and the board of governors.
The specific charge to the commission reveals the
rationale for its reinstatement:
"The commission is to evaluate the existing
California Rules of Professional Conduct in their entirety considering
developments in the attorney professional responsibility field since
the last comprehensive revision of the rules occurred in 1989 and
1992. In this regard, the commission is to consider, along with
judicial and statutory developments, the Final Report and
Recommendations of the ABA Ethics 2000 Commission, the American Law
Institute's Restatement of the Law Third, The Law Governing Lawyers,
as well as other authorities relevant to the development of
professional responsibility standards. The commission is specifically
charged to also consider the work that has occurred at the local,
state and national level with respect to multidisciplinary practice,
multijurisdictional practice, court facilitated propria persona
assistance, discrete task representation and other subjects that have
a substantial impact upon the development of professional
responsibility standards."
To begin its study, the commission is seeking
written comment from the public, consumers of legal services, members
of the bar, the judiciary and any other interested person or group. We
want input on what amendments to the Rules of Profes-sional Conduct
warrant consideration and study. We welcome general comments
discussing concepts for revision, including suggestions for new rules
and rule deletions. The commission also welcomes comments identifying
and discussing existing rules, if any, that should not be altered.
Comments should be sent to: Audrey Hollins,
Professional Competence Unit, State Bar of California, 180 Howard
Street, San Francisco, California, 94105-1639; audrey.hollins@calsb.org.
Also, the commission's memo seeking written comment will be posted
at the State Bar's official website, www.calbar.org.
The full text of the current Rules of Professional Conduct also are
online at that website.
For more information about the commission,
contact staff counsel Randall Difuntorum at 415/538-2161.
 Harry
Sondheim is chair of the Commission for the Revision of Rules of
Professional Conduct.
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