Vt. Memo to the Bar, July 10, 2018

SUPREME COURT OF VERMONT

OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

PATRICIA GABEL, ESQ. Mailing Address

State Court Administrator Office of the Court Administrator

patricia.gabel@vermont.gov 109 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05609-0701

Telephone (802) 828-3278

FAX: 802 828-3457

www.vermontjudiciary.org

TO: Members of the Vermont Bar

FROM: Patricia Gabel, Esq., State Court Administrator

RE: Proposed Rule Amendments and Miscellaneous Information

DATE: July 10, 2018

For your information, please find the following information:

• Proposed Amendments to Comments to Rule 1.1 of the Vermont Rules of Professional

Conduct

• Proposed Order Adding Rule 3(e) and Amending Rule 5(f) of the Vermont Rules of Probate

Procedure

• Updated Court Forms

• Obligations Under A.O. 41

• eCabinet Registration

I. PROPOSED RULE AMENDMENTS

(NOTE: THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AND HAVE NOT

BEEN REVIEWED BY THE SUPREME COURT.)

a. Proposed Amendments to Comments to Rule 1.1 of the Vermont Rules of Professional

Conduct

The proposed amendments track the ABA Ethics 20/20 changes to Model Rule 1.1 and its

comments. The proposal adds Comments [6] and [7] to address the phenomenon of “outsourcing”

work by lawyers and clarifies how the duty of competence interrelate to such practices. The

proposed amendment renumbers Comment [6] as Comment [8] and clarifies that the duty of

competence includes a general understanding of technology and its potential impact on client

matters.

Comments on these proposed amendments should be sent by September 10, 2018 to Michael

Kennedy, Bar Counsel, at the following address:

Michael Kennedy, Bar Counsel

Professional Responsibility Program

32 Cherry Street, Suite 213

Burlington, VT 05401

Michael.Kennedy@vermont.gov

b. Proposed Order Adding Rule 3(e) and Amending Rule 5(f) of the Vermont Rules of

Probate Procedure

The proposed amendment adds Rule 3(e) to provide a “prisoner mailbox” procedure for the

filing of a petition in a probate proceeding by an inmate confined in an institution. The proposed

rule is virtually identical to V.R.A.P. 4(f), effective March 13, 2017, and V.R.C.P. 3(b), adopted

effective August 13, 2018.

The proposed amendment redesignates Rule 5(f) as Rule 5(f)(1) and adds Rule 5(f)(2) to

provide a “prisoner’s mailbox” procedure for the filing of documents after the petition in a

probate proceeding by an inmate confined in an institution. The provision is virtually identical to

the simultaneously proposed V.R.P.P. 3(e) providing the procedure for inmate filing of a petition.

Comments on these proposed amendments should be sent by September 10, 2018 to the

Hon. Jeffrey Kilgore, Chair of the Advisory Committee on Rules of Probate Procedure, at the

following address:

Hon. Jeffrey Kilgore

Washington Probate Division

65 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05602

Jeffrey.Kilgore@vermont.gov

II. MISCELLANEOUS

a. Court Forms

Court forms are constantly being updated. Please refer to the judiciary website for the most

up-to-date forms. https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/court-forms

b. Obligation under A.O. 41

Attorneys are reminded that an “attorney must report to the State Court Administrator within

thirty days any change of the office mailing or electronic mail address” and that “[n]otice sent to a

reported address is sufficient even if not received by the attorney because of failure to report the

proper address or failure of delivery not caused by the court.” A.O. 41, § 4(c); see A.O. 44, § 1.

Please email those changes to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov. Your cooperation is very

much appreciated.

To ensure you continue to receive these emails, please add JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov

to your Safe Senders list.

c. eCabinet Registration

Administrative Order No. 44 requires attorneys in active status to register up to three email

addresses in eCabinet for purposes of receiving notices of hearing and other documents. You

may include staff email addresses in the three email addresses that you specify. eCabinet

registration is required whether you practice in court or not.

If you have already registered in eCabinet, the email address(es) you provided as part of that

process will be used.

If you have not already registered in eCabinet, please go to

https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/, click Register Now, and follow the simple prompts.

Attorneys will need their attorney license numbers to register. Helpful information about the

Attorney Email Registration process is also available on the Electronic Filing page of the

judiciary website at https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-

access/electronic-filing. Please contact jud.helpdesk@vermont.gov or call the Helpdesk at 802-

828-4357 with any questions in the meantime.

You are also reminded that you are required to update the email address(es) and other contact

information you have registered as soon as there are any changes, including changes to staff

email addresses you may have included with your registration. To revise the information, please

go to https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/, log into eCabinet, click “Account,” choose “My

Profile,” and make the necessary changes to your contact information.

Notification to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov or in eCabinet of a change to your contact

information does not automatically notify the other. It is your responsibility to notify both. If you

are a member of the Vermont Bar Association, you will also need to separately notify the VBA.