Vt. Sup. Ct. Admin. Order 41 § 18

(a) As part of the licensing statement required by § 4(a)(8) or as part of a “change of

status” form required by the Attorney Licensing Office, attorneys who select “active status” for

their law license must certify whether they are currently covered by professional liability

insurance.

(b) The following attorneys are exempt from the disclosure requirement of paragraph (a):

(1) Full-time government attorneys who, but for participating in a pro bono program,

do not represent clients outside their official capacity;

(2) Attorneys who are in-house counsel and who, but for participating in a pro bono

program, do not represent clients outside their in-house role;

(3) Attorneys on active status and who, but for participating in a pro bono program, do

not represent clients; and,

(4) Attorneys who select any license status other than “active status.”

(c) Attorneys who have a law license on active status and who report being covered by

professional liability insurance must notify the State Court Administrator or designee in writing

within thirty days if the insurance policy providing coverage lapses or terminates for any reason

without immediate renewal or replacement with substitute coverage.

(d) The information submitted pursuant to § 18(a), (b), and (c) is publicly available after the

second license renewal deadline that follows adoption of this rule.

(e) Knowingly supplying false information in response to § 18(a) or (b) or failing to comply

with § 18(c) subjects attorneys to a disciplinary investigation.

Reporter’s Notes — 2022 Amendment

Administrative Order 41 is amended to include provisions

regarding coverage of malpractice insurance. A joint committee

made of members from the Professional Responsibility Board and

the Vermont Bar Association met several times, studied the

approaches of several jurisdictions, and heard from a variety of

individuals, including attorneys involved in attorney discipline and

malpractice cases, and representatives of title and malpractice

insurers. The committee proposed that the A.O. 41 be amended to

require that the annual licensing statement include a section

requiring lawyers to disclose their insurance status. New § 4(a)(8)

implements that requirement. New § 18 provides details of the

required disclosure, exempting government attorneys, in-house

counsel, attorneys on active status that do not represent clients,

and attorneys not on active status.

Section 18(d) provides that the information regarding insurance

coverage will be publicly available from the Judiciary after a full

license renewal period has passed. Attorneys renew their licenses

every two years and the delay in providing this information publicly

through the Judiciary is to avoid any possibility that there will be

incomplete or unclear information. For example, if the rule takes

effect in 2022 after the July 1 renewal date, then the information

will not be publicly available until after July 1, 2024, so that it will

not appear that some attorneys are uninsured when, in fact, they

have simply not yet had an opportunity to report their insurance

coverage. Although this information will not be immediately

available from the Judiciary, prospective and current clients are able

and encouraged to obtain information from their attorneys

regarding malpractice insurance.