Court of Appeals Seek Comment on Proposed Amendment to Rule 6.5

February 19, 2020

The D.C. Court of Appeals is seeking comment from interested parties on a proposal to amend Comment 1 of Rule 6.5 of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct regarding short-term limited legal services by lawyers acting under the auspices of a program sponsored by a court or nonprofit organization. The deadline for comments is April 14.

Representatives of various pro bono service providers have indicated that Comment [1] to Rule 6.5 in its current form has presented an obstacle to the provision of certain forms of pro bono representation. The court is therefore considering whether to amend Comment [1] to state that, “For the purposes of this rule, short-term limited legal services normally do not include appearing for a tribunal on behalf of a client on more than a single date.”

Submit comments electronically to [email protected], or by mail to: Clerk, D.C. Court of Appeals, 430 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. All comments submitted pursuant to this notice will be available to the public.

Read the full court order.