Court of Appeals Solicits Comment on Proposed Amendments to D.C. Rules

October 22, 2024

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals announced on October 17 that it is considering the adoption of amendments to D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1 (Competence), 1.6 (Confidentiality of Information), 3.8 (Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor), 4.4 (Respect for Rights of Third Persons), and 5.3 (Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants).

Proposed by the D.C. Bar in April 2020, the amendments seek to address the continuing responsibility of a lawyer to keep abreast of changes in technology (Rule 1.1); a lawyer's duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent unauthorized access to electronic information, and the reasonableness of security measures to be taken by a lawyer when using and storing electronic communications (Rule 1.6); and a lawyer’s obligations after receiving inadvertently sent information or metadata (Rule 4.4).

Amendments to Rule 3.8 would make the Rule consistent with the Court of Appeals’ holding in In re Kline and include new Rules 3.8(h), (i), and (j) and Comments [4]–[7] to address duties of prosecutors to disclose certain post-conviction exculpatory information. Proposed changes to Rule 5.3 would address ethical obligations when lawyers “outsource” legal work or use “outside” lawyers, and where the client rather than the lawyer is directing the outsourcing.

The court invites comment on the Bar’s recommendations, as well as on issues relating to Rule 3.8 not considered by the Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee.

Comments must be submitted by Monday, December 16, 2024, either electronically to [email protected] or by mail to Clerk, D.C. Court of Appeals, 430 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.