Vt. Memo to the Bar, Oct. 22, 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: Promulgated Rule Amendments and Miscellaneous Information

DATE: October 22, 2018

For your information, please find the following information:

• Order Promulgating Amendments to Rule 26(b) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure

• Order Promulgating Amendments to Rule 1.1 of the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct,

Comments [6]-[8]

• Updated Court Forms

• Obligations Under A.O. 41

• eCabinet Registration

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENTS

Order Promulgating Amendments to Rule 26(b) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure

Order Promulgating Amendments to Rule 26(b) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure

f

This Order was promulgated on October 9, 2018; effective December 10, 2018.

The amendment corrects internal cross references to provisions of Rule 26(b) that were not

corrected when the rule was amended by order of July 14, effective September 18, 2017.

Order Promulgating Amendments to Rule 1.1 of the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct,

Comments [6]-[8]

This Order was promulgated October 9, 2018; effective December 10, 2018.

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

Comments [6] and [7] are added to address the phenomenon of “outsourcing” work by lawyers and

clarify how the duty of competence interrelates to such practices. Comment [6] is renumbered as

Comment [8] and clarifies that the duty of competence includes having a general understanding of

technology and its potential impact on client matters.

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.