2023
April
The Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility met on March 30, 2023, to review final drafts of possible amendments to Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16 addressing client due diligence. Together the Ethics and Regulation Committees will bring a Resolution on client due diligence obligations to the ABA House of Delegates at the Annual Meeting in August 2023. At that same meeting, the Ethics Committee reviewed three draft ethics opinions.
March
On March 1, the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Ethics Opinion 504. The Opinion provides guidance on the application of Model Rule of Professional Conduct 8.5, Choice of Law, when a lawyer represents a client, whose matter requires the lawyer to practice the law of more than one jurisdiction. Through hypotheticals, the Committee explores situations in which the rules of a tribunal, the rules of the jurisdiction in which the lawyer’s actions occurred, or the rules of the jurisdiction where the primary effect of the lawyer’s actions apply.
On March 2, the Committee met to review all comments received on its Third Discussion Draft of amendments to the Model Rule of Professional Conduct addressing client due diligence. This draft presents possible amendments to Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16. Both the Ethics and Regulation Committees intend to bring a Resolution on client due diligence obligations to the ABA House of Delegates at the Annual Meeting in August 2023.
February
The Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and the Standing Committee on Professional Regulation will host their third public roundtable on amending the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct to address lawyers’ responsibility to conduct client due diligence. This roundtable will be via over Zoom on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm Central. During the meeting, witnesses will present their positions on the ideas released for comment. Persons wishing to attend and those wishing to provide comment have been asked to register. More information about the roundtable can be found here.
January
The Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility met on January 5, 2023. The Committee:
- reviewed a draft ethic opinion on Model Rule of Professional Conduct Rule 8.5, Choice of Law;
- voted to support and co-sponsor the Co-LAP Commission and Standing Committee on Professionalism proposal to amend the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct to include a Comment on lawyer wellness in Model Rule 1.1, Competence;
- voted to support and release for Comment a proposed amendment to ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16 on client due diligence;
- reviewed the final version of the beneficial ownership resolution before the House in February 2023; and
- reviewed the draft resolution and report of a local bar association which may be filed with the House in February for consideration.