The Kansas Supreme Court is accepting public comment on proposed Rule 241: Rule Relating to the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection under attorney discipline.
This proposal moves current Rule 227 to Rule 241 and amends the rule.
Proposed changes fall into three categories:
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amendments to transfer administrative duties from the Office of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts to the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator;
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extensive renumbering, restyling, and retooling amendments to align this rule with other Supreme Court rules; and
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minor amendments for clarity.
The proposed changes do not substantively affect the consideration of claims made to the Client Protection Fund.
Amendments in Rule 241 are shown using strikethrough for deletion and underlining for new language.
Comment may be made by email to SCRulespubliccomment@kscourts.org until noon Friday, October 9, 2020. The subject line must read "Rule 241."
The Kansas Supreme Court is accepting public comment on proposed Rules 200 through 240: Rules Relating to Discipline of Attorneys.
Proposed changes to Rules Relating to Discipline of Attorneys are extensive and amount to an overhaul of the existing rules, so the changes are not marked with underlining for new text or strikeout for deleted text.
Generally, the rules are restyled and retooled to align with other Supreme Court rules. Other changes increase efficiency, clarify the disciplinary process, and codify existing practices. Many provisions of existing rules relate to varied subjects, and this proposal creates separate rules for each subject. The rules also are reordered to better reflect how a complaint moves through the disciplinary process.
New provisions in the proposed rules include:
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definitions for greater clarity;
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new deadlines for the disciplinary administrator and the respondent to promote an efficient hearing process;
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a clear process for respondents to get subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify at disciplinary hearings;
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expanded use of depositions in attorney disciplinary cases;
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a procedure for parties, by agreement, to submit a disciplinary case directly to the Supreme Court and forgo a hearing before the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys; and
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a provision that addresses using expert witnesses in disciplinary proceedings.
The proposed changes also move the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct from Rule 226 to Rule 240. There are no changes to the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct other than to move them to Rule 240, so the text is not included for public comment.
Comment may be made by email to SCRulespubliccomment@kscourts.org until noon Tuesday, November 10, 2020. The subject line must read "Rules Relating to Discipline of Attorneys."