Vt. Memo to the Bar, July 8, 2025

SUPREME COURT OF VERMONT

OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

THERESE CORSONES, ESQ. Mailing Address

State Court Administrator Office of the Court Administrator

Therese.Corsones@vtcourts.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 and Proposed Rules, Vermont Judiciary Migrating Virtual Hearing

Capabilities, eFile and Serve and Public Portal Information, Filing of Exhibits & Other

Miscellaneous Info

DATE: July 8, 2025

For your information, please find:

• Vermont Judiciary Migrating Virtual Hearing Capabilities

• Promulgation Order Amending Rule 3.4 of the Vermont Code of Judicial Conduct

• Proposed Order Amending A.O. 9, Rules 2, 5, 6.C. and D., and 12 - Permanent Rules

Governing Establishment and Operation of the Professional Responsibility Program

• eFile & Serve and Public Portal Information

• Filing of Exhibits for Evidentiary Hearing

• Miscellaneous

Vermont Judiciary Migrating Virtual Hearing Capabilities

The Vermont Judiciary is migrating virtual hearing capabilities from Webex to Zoom in calendar

year 2025. Please be on the lookout for additional communication from the Judiciary regarding

migration of individual counties and training sessions. More information can be found at

https://zoom.vtcourts.gov including timelines and documentation about using the Zoom

platform.

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENTS

Promulgation Order Amending Rule 3.4 of the Vermont Code of Judicial Conduct

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROMULGATED--CodeofJudicialConductRule3.4--

STAMPED

This Order was promulgated on July 8, 2025, effective January 1, 2026.

The amendment to Rule 3.4 is to explicitly allow a judge to participate on a volunteer fire

department or rescue squad. Service as a volunteer member of a fire department or rescue squad

is comparable to serving as a volunteer for a nonprofit organization, which is permitted in certain

circumstances and subject to certain restrictions under Rule 3.7. New Comment [3] explains the

benefit of having judges perform this function and the financial reporting requirement for

compensation received.

II. PROPOSED RULE AMENDMENTS

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

APPROVED BY THE SUPREME COURT.)

Proposed Order Amending Rules 2, 5, 6.C. and D., and 12 of Administrative Order No. 9,

Permanent Rules Governing Establishment and Operation of the Professional Responsibility

Program

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROPOSED-AO9Rules256and12--FORCOMMENT

In 2021, the Court amended A.O. 9 to create the Bar Assistance Program. The amendments

included removing Bar Counsel from the process by which disciplinary complaints are screened

based on a recommendation from the Professional Responsibility Board. The Board now

recommends amending A.O. 9 to return the screening function to Bar Counsel to provide

consistency in screening and guidance, and ensure an active nondisciplinary, dispute-resolution

process remains a critical component of regulation.

The proposed amendment to Rule 2 eliminates the position of Screening Counsel.

The proposed amendment to Rule 5.A. reflects that, pursuant to Rule 12.A, Bar Counsel will

screen all disciplinary complaints. The remaining paragraphs are re-lettered.

The proposed changes to Rules 6.C and 6.D reflect the amendments to Rules 5 and 12

designating to Bar Counsel the task of screening disciplinary complaints. The proposed

amendment to Rule 6.D reflects the fact that there will be situations in which dismissing a

complaint is not appropriate even though a disciplinary investigation or disciplinary prosecution is

not warranted. In such situations, the complaint is referred to the Bar Assistance Program for

nondisciplinary resolution in a manner authorized by Rules 5, 6, or 7.

The proposed amendments to Rule 12 replaces all references to “Screening Counsel” with “Bar

Counsel.” Rule 12 is also reorganized for clarity.

Comments on these proposed amendments should be sent by September 8, 2025 to Michael

Kennedy, Bar Counsel, at the following address:

Michael Kennedy, Bar Counsel

Michael.Kennedy@vtcourts.gov

III. eFILE & SERVE AND PUBLIC PORTAL INFORMATION

eFile and Serve has provided information for court users who are not receiving email notifications

and who question whether their email addresses have mistakenly been placed on a “Suppression

List.” Here’s a link to information in that regard Why was my email placed on the Suppression

List? – eFile (zendesk.com). Here’s another link for court users who wish to have their email

addresses “Safelisted” to ensure proper delivery

https://odysseyfileandserve.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046887411.

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

Court use eFile and Serve. Please use the following links to access the electronic filing and portal

systems and for more information.

Reminders for eFile Users:

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.

eFile & Serve. eFile and Serve is the platform through which you electronically file with the

courts. To access eFile, please visit https://vermont.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb/Home

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 eFile, please contact Tyler Technologies at 800-297-5377 or

efiling.support@tylertech.com

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

EFileSupport@vtcourts.gov

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

portal, please visit https://portal.vtcourts.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 itsupport@vtcourts.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. The Vermont Judiciary’s website

provides detailed instructions on how to submit exhibits for use at trials and other kinds of

evidentiary hearings. https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/FilersGuidetoExhibitsforHearings

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

c. Receipt of Court Notices and Orders (eCabinet)

The Vermont courts send all court-issued documents (hearing notices, orders, etc.) to attorneys

by email using the email addresses registered in a system called eCabinet. Attorneys may register

up to three email addresses in the system and are responsible for keeping the information

updated. The email address(es) registered in eCabinet are not used for service of documents filed

by opposing parties, which is done through service contacts in Odyssey File & Serve.

To create an eCabinet account or update an existing account, attorneys must contact the

Judiciary helpdesk through one of the methods listed below. Please include your attorney bar

license number in your communication.

• Email itsupport@vtcourts.gov

• Telephone the Judiciary helpdesk at 802-828-4357

• Use the online form eCabinet Registration/Update (cognitoforms.com)

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.

d. Notice of Vacation

Attorneys may notify the superior courts of their vacation schedules by emailing

CentralClerkReview@vtcourts.gov. The information will be available to all trial courts, including

the Probate Division and the Judicial Bureau, for scheduling purposes. Attorneys do not need to

send notices separately to each county or division of the superior court.

If attorneys wish to also notify the Vermont Supreme Court of their vacation schedules, they

should copy supremecourt@vtcourts.gov on the email. Any questions, please

contact centralclerkreview@vtcourts.gov.