Vt. Memo to the Bar, Feb. 7, 2023

SUPREME COURT OF VERMONT

OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

THERESE CORSONES, ESQ. Mailing Address

State Court Administrator Office of the Court Administrator

Therese.Corsones@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: Teri Corsones, Esq., State Court Administrator

RE: Promulgated Rules, Approved Financial Institutions, Odyssey File and Serve and Public

Portal Information, Filing of Exhibits & Other Miscellaneous Info

DATE: February 7, 2023

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For your information, please find:

• Order Amending Rules 9(b)(1), 11, and 13(e) of the Vermont Rules of Admission to the Bar

of the Vermont Supreme Court

• Order Amending Rule 4.3(a) of the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings

• Order Amending Rules 6(b)(9) and 11(c) of Vermont Rules for Public Access to Court

Records

• Approved Financial Institutions

• Odyssey File and Serve and Public Portal Information

• Filing of Exhibits

• Miscellaneous

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENTS

a. Order Amending Rules 9(b)(1), 11, and 13(e) of the Vermont Rules of Admission to the Bar

of the Vermont Supreme Court

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROMULGATED--VermontRulesofAdmissiontoBar-

Rules9(b)(1),11and13(e)--STAMPED

This Order was promulgated on February 6, 2023, effective April 10, 2023.

The amendment to Rule 9(b)(1) clarifies that an applicant must be on active status in the other U.S.

jurisdiction to qualify for the exemption from the five-years-from-graduation requirement.

In conjunction with a similar amendment to Rule 13(e), the amendment to Rule 11 clarifies what

good cause means in the context of the Board of Bar Examiners’ determination of whether to extend

the time within which the Board will accept an MPRE score.

b. Order Amending Rule 4.3(a) of the Vermont Rules for Family Proceedings

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROMULGATED--VRFP4.3(a)--STAMPED

This Order was promulgated on February 6, 2023, effective June 5, 2023.

The amendment to Rule 4.3(a) clarifies provisions related to consolidation of relief-from-abuse

cases and domestic cases. The amended language specifies that the rule applies to all actions

subject to Rule 4.0 where a relief from abuse action is filed either prior to or following the filing of

the action subject to Rule 4.0. The actions subject to Rule 4.0 are set forth in Rule 4.0(a)(1). In

addition to divorce and annulment actions, they include legal separation, dissolution of a civil

union, parentage, desertion, and nonsupport. The amendment to Rule 4.3(a)(3) automatically

consolidates cases where a relief from abuse action is filed after the Rule 4.0 action and a temporary

order is issued or, in the case of a denial, a request for hearing is filed, when one of the following

three circumstances exists: (1) the complaint in that action is still pending; (2) there are pending

post-judgement motions; or (3) the requests for relief in the abuse-prevention action conflict with an

outstanding order in the action subject to Rule 4.0.

c. Order Amending Rules 6(b)(9) and 11(c) of Vermont Rules for Public Access to Court

Records

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROMULGATED-VRPACR6(b)(9)and11(c)--

STAMPED

This Order was promulgated on February 6, 2023, effective April 10, 2023.

The amendment to Rule 6(b)(9)(A) clarifies the existing provision that exempts the complaint and

affidavit from public access until defendant has an opportunity for a hearing. The revised rule

provides that temporary orders granting relief are publicly accessible. The amended rule clarifies the

public access status of the complaint, affidavit, and resulting order when relief is denied. Where

temporary relief is denied and plaintiff does not pursue the case, the complaint, affidavit, and order

denying relief remain nonpublic. Where temporary relief is denied and plaintiff does pursue the case,

the order denying relief is not publicly accessible until the defendant has the opportunity for a

hearing pursuant to statute.

The amendments to Rule 6(b)(9)(B) and (C) implement the restrictions of public access created by

V.R.F.P. 9(b) and (g)(1) and V.R.C.P. 80.10(b). The purpose of the family and civil proceeding rules

is to protect location and access information of the abuse-prevention proceeding plaintiff, and in a

limited circumstance the defendant, from being accessible to the other party, the other party’s

lawyer, or the public.

The amendment to Rule 11(c) reflects the fact that the Research and Information Services Division

of the Court Administrator’s office has been reorganized and renamed as the Technology Services

Center.

II. LIST OF APPROVED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

List of Approved Financial Institutions

Rule 1.15B(a)(1) of the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct requires lawyers to maintain

their trust accounts only in financial institutions approved by the Professional Responsibility Board.

Financial institutions which have not been so approved may obtain information as to how to become

certified by contacting jud.attylicensing@vermont.gov

For a complete list of Approved Financial Institutions, please click on the following link and

select “Attorney Trust Accounts”:

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/boards-and-commitees/professional-responsibility

III. ODYSSEY FILE & SERVE AND PUBLIC PORTAL INFORMATION

All Superior Courts, including the Environmental Division, the Judicial Bureau, and the Supreme

Court are using Odyssey and accepting electronic filings through Odyssey File & Serve. Please use

the following links to access Odyssey electronic filing and portal systems and for more information.

Reminders for OFS Users:

1) PDFs must be “flattened” prior to efiling through Odyssey File & Serve

With the increased use in electronic signature tools, it is important for OFS filers to

remember that all PDFs must be flattened prior to filing in OFS. In order to eFile a form-

fillable PDF or a PDF that has been electronically signed, you must first save them as a flat

file. Otherwise, the filing will fail and you will need to refile.

Follow the steps below to "flatten" a completed PDF:

1. Open the completed PDF.

2. Right click on document and select Print. NOTE: if document opens in Adobe, Select

File and select Print.

3. Select the PDF printer. (The Adobe PDF printer is installed automatically with Adobe

Acrobat. Numerous free PDF printer

drivers are available for download from the Internet.)

4. Select OK.

5. Specify location to save the printed, "flattened" version of the form.

6. Select Save

2) Attorneys must select the party they represent as the “person responsible for fees” in the Fee

section of the filing process. Additionally, when the attorney represents more than one party,

attorneys should continue to select the same party as the “person responsible for fees”;

otherwise, the attorney will incur an additional efiling use fee.

Odyssey File & Serve. Odyssey File & Serve (OFS) is the platform through which you

electronically file with the courts. To access OFS, please visit https://vermont.tylerhost.net/ofsweb

You can access user guides through the “User Guides” link in the “Self Help” window. You can also

access docket-specific user guides and a new Frequently Asked Questions on the judiciary’s website

at www.vermontjudiciary.org/efiling

For technical support regarding Odyssey File & Serve, please contact Tyler Technologies at 800-

297-5377 or efiling.support@tylertech.com

If you have procedural questions about OFS, please email the judiciary at

JUD.EFileSupport@vermont.gov

Odyssey Public Portal. The Odyssey Public Portal allows you to view your case files. To access the

portal, please visit https://publicportal.courts.vt.gov/Portal/ Before you can view your case files, you

must first register in the portal and then request elevated access. The Public Portal User Guide

contains instructions on how to register and request elevated access. You can read the user guide on

our website at https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/public-portal

For technical support regarding the Public Portal, please contact the Vermont Judiciary’s HelpDesk

at Jud.helpdesk@vermont.gov When emailing, please write “Public Portal” in the subject line.

IV. FILING OF EXHIBITS FOR EVIDENTIARY HEARING

Per the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, all electronically filed documents (including

exhibit lists and exhibits) must be submitted in PDF format. It is recommended that the exhibit list

be filed in Odyssey File & Serve (OFS) as a “Lead Document” and that any PDF exhibits be filed as

attachments to that exhibit list.

Multimedia files that cannot be converted to PDF format should be submitted by nonelectronic

means on a USB flash drive (aka thumb drive) and can be mailed or delivered to the court. It is

recommended that filers indicate this on the exhibit list being filed in OFS. Please note that while the

courts are equipped to view common multimedia formats (such as .mp3, .mp4, .mpeg, .mov, .wmv

files), the filer will have to provide compatible player software if an exhibit is in a proprietary

multimedia format.

Finally, please remember that regardless of how an exhibit is filed, it is the filer’s responsibility

during a hearing to present the exhibits. During remote hearings, this means the filer must either

assure that all witnesses have been provided with the marked exhibits in advance and have them

available to view; or be able to share his or her screen to allow all participants to view the exhibit. If

the exhibit is a video or audio file, the litigant must be prepared to play it during the hearing.

V. 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

Please use the link below to report any form question, concern or issue

http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/website-feedback-form or you can access our Website Feedback

program at the bottom of each web page.

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). To update changes in your

contact information, please access your attorney account with the Attorney Portal

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

JUD.CAOMemotoBar@vermont.gov AND JUD.AutomatedCourtEmail@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.

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. This website only works with Internet

Explorer. If you do not have access to Internet Explorer, please contact the helpdesk. 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 if you have

difficulty accessing eCabinet or with any questions.

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.

Updating information in the Attorney Portal or in eCabinet does not automatically notify the

other. It is your responsibility to update both. If you are a member of the Vermont Bar Association,

you will also need to separately notify the VBA.

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

JUD.CAOMemotoBar@vermont.gov to your Safe Senders list.