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AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
STANDING COMMITTEE ON CLIENT PROTECTION
INFORMATIONAL REPORT TO THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Since its last informational report to the House of Delegates in August 2017, the Standing Committee on Client Protection has continued to fulfill its mandate by promoting mechanisms to mitigate and reimburse client financial loss caused by lawyer misconduct, arbitrate client-lawyer fee disputes, and mediate other client-lawyer disputes;by developing legal policy and programming in the regulation of the unlicensed practice of law; and by developing legal policy in the regulation of the practice of law, including the many facets of multijurisdictional practice.
The Committee held the 3rd ABA UPL School on October 26-27, 2017 in Chicago at the Chicago Bar Association. This biennial programserves as a central forum for volunteer members of state and local bar unauthorized practice of law committees and commissions, regulators charged with the prevention and prosecution, state and federal enforcement agencies, and private practitioners to discuss current and anticipated issues in UPL enforcement. The program was co-sponsored by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Illinois Supreme Court (ARDC) and was attended by over 80 registrants.
The Committee conducted a business meeting on October 28, 2017. The Committee discussed the evaluations from the 33rd National Forum on Client Protection andfinalized the programming for the upcoming 34th National Forum on Client Protection; loss prevention mechanisms for conservatorships/trusts; the 3rd ABA UPL School; the 2018 Survey of UPL Committees; expanding the consultation program to include UPL committees and commissions; and collaboration with other ABA and Center entities including the CPR-CLE Committee and the ABA Journal. The Committee also discussed the Board of Governors entity review process and the potential impact on the Committee and other Center entities, as well as petitioning the House of Delegates to change the Committee’s name and mission statement to more accurately reflect the Committee’s work.
The Committee continues to explore potential policy solutions to address the misappropriation of funds held in trust when a lawyer acts as trustee or conservator. An increasing number of lawyers’ funds for client protection are receiving large claims for losses that have resulted from the lawyers violating their duties as trustees. The Committee continues its work to develop a model policy to help mitigate or eliminate these losses.Potential solutions include limiting the lawyer’s ability to act as trustee or as sole trustee, imposing a notice requirement when funds are withdrawn from a trust, or requiring lawyers who act as trustee to acquire a bond to cover potential losses.
The Committee is working to expand its consultation services to include UPL committees and commissions. The Committee currently conducts consultations with state client protection funds to help ensure that client protection mechanisms are optimally operated based on recognized best practices and established model policies. No national model for UPL enforcement exists. Expanding the consultation program to include state supreme court UPL committees would require a highlynuanced review tailored to the enforcement structure within the requesting jurisdiction. A U.S. jurisdiction has expressed interest in the Committee’s review. The Committee is awaiting formal request form that jurisdiction’s supreme court.
The Committee will circulate questionnaires for the 2018Survey of Unlicensed Practice of Law Committeesto state UPL Committees or enforcement agencies. The mechanisms for the enforcement of UPL statutes vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and the survey seeks to track changes in claims for UPL violations and trends in enforcement. The results of the survey are provided to courts, bar associations, lawyers, members of the public, and news media nationwide. We are hopeful that the survey results will include a response from every jurisdiction in the United States.
The Committee is currently planning the programming for the 34th National Forum on Client Protection, which will be held on June 1-2, 2018 in Louisville, KY in conjunction with the National Conference on Professional Responsibility and the Specialization Roundtable. The National Forum is the premier educational and informational program for professionals and volunteers working in the area of client protection. The National Forum allows leaders in the client protection community to interact with nationally recognized experts in the professional responsibility area and explore the development of lawyer regulatory trends, as well as new and innovative mechanisms for client protection. Topics for the 34th National Forum include: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Fee Disputes, and Client Protection Funds; Efficiencies in Claims Processing; Baby Boomers or Bust: Aging Lawyers and Misappropriation of Client Funds; Trustees and Conservators; Collections 101; and, Hot Topics in Client Protection. The Committee will also present its Annual Town Hall Meeting and the National Client Protection Organization will present its Annual Difficult Claims Workshop.
Respectfully submitted,
Frank X. Neuner, Chair
Standing Committee on Client Protection
February 2018