Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel
An Independent Office of the Colorado Supreme Court
Promoting Professionalism. Protecting the Public.
As we’ve previously noted, on January 2, 2024, a break-in at the Ralph Carr Judicial Center resulted in significant damage to the building, including to the 5th floor where our offices are located. Fortunately, many of the services we provide are available electronically. While we continue to receive mail at the building, when possible, please use email and phone services to communicate with our office. We appreciate your continued patience.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s Licensed Legal Paraprofessional Committee has updated the Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) about the LLP program to address questions about LLPs’ scope of practice, specifically when an expert may be involved, what LLPs can do in court, and whether LLPs can deviate from Judicial Department Forms (“JDFs”).
C.R.C.P. 207.1 defines the LLPs’ scope of practice. The updated FAQs are not the equivalent of a court rule. Instead, they strive to address recurring issues and points of confusion among judges, lawyers and LLPs.
Rule 207.1(2)(f)(xi) restricts an LLP from practicing law in “matters in which an expert report or testimony is required to value an asset or determine income due to the inherent complexity of the asset or income at issue.” The new FAQs address when an expert report or testimony will be “required” under those circumstances, thus triggering the exclusion to scope of practice, and the options available to the client in such situations.
Rule 207.1(2)(g)(xiii) addresses an LLP’s scope of practice in court, which includes “making statements and arguments in court other than examining a witness.” The new FAQs explain that LLPs can draft questions for their client to ask in witness examination, and that LLPs can assert objections, since those are legal arguments.
Rule 207.1(2)(g)(iv) pertains to an LLP’s scope of practice in preparing and filing official (JDF) forms. The new FAQs observe that a presiding court may have already accepted variations on those forms, and using the accepted alternatives is still within an LLP’s scope of practice.
The LLP Committee will continue to monitor and respond to feedback from stakeholders about the LLP program.
The deadline to respond to the demographic survey is Monday, March 31. If you did not complete this voluntary and anonymous survey through the attorney registration process, there’s still time to take the survey. Please do so by March 31, 2025. Higher participation allows us to better understand and monitor shifts in the demographics of the Colorado bar. To access the survey, click here.
The results of the survey, along with information regarding the work of the office in 2024, will be included in the 2024 Annual Report, which will be issued later this spring.
On February 6, 2025, the Colorado Supreme Court adopted amendments to Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct 1.7, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12, 1.18, 2.4, 3.3 and 3.5. The amendments serve to update references to Rule 1.0 Terminology throughout the Comments to these Rules. The adopted amendments can be found here.
On March 5, 2025, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued ABA Formal Ethics Opinion 515 A Lawyer’s Discretion to Report When a Client Commits a Crime Against the Lawyer or Against Someone Associated with, or Related to, the Lawyer. This Opinion discusses the circumstances where a client commits a crime against a lawyer or someone the lawyer is associated with or related to. The Opinion explains that where an attorney-client relationship exists, or where there is a prospective attorney-client relationship, Model Rules 1.6 and 1.18, respectively, would govern a lawyer’s disclosure of confidential client information. The Opinion further explains that while some of the exceptions under Rule 1.6(b) may permit a lawyer to make disclosures of otherwise confidential information in these circumstances, there may not be an articulated exception for the lawyer to make disclosure. For those situations where a client’s crimes are against the lawyer or the lawyer is a witness to a client’s crime against someone the lawyer is associated with or related to, the Opinion articulates an “implied exception” to the duty of confidentiality for the lawyer to make disclosure. With respect to this implied exception, the Opinion states, “the lawyer must have a reasonable belief that the information to be provided would be necessary for: an investigation and prosecution of the alleged criminal conduct; for securing services like medical treatment or insurance coverage; or for other redress or remedy and that such information would not be reasonably available from other sources.” Pgs. 7-8. ABA Formal Opinion 515.
On April 10, 2025, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) will honor the heads of the working groups who led the effort to develop the structure of Colorado’s Licensed Legal Paraprofessional program by bestowing them with the Rebuilding Justice Award. The award recognizes individuals and groups who demonstrate innovation and leadership in building a legal system that is accessible, fair, reliable and accountable. IAALS selected the LLP program to “recognize and champion the committee’s leadership, innovation, and long-standing commitment in support of ensuring access to justice for all.” Congratulations to all those involved in the creation and implementation of the LLP program in Colorado. For more information about the award and for tickets to the awards dinner, see the IAALS website here.
Most of us know the futility of striving for perfection, and yet, in a profession where we’re expected to be error-free, abandoning the perfectionist mindset is difficult. In this article, Kerry McCarthy, Clinical Coordinator at the Colorado Lawyer Assistance Program, explains what we really seek when we aim for perfection, why this mentality is a trap, and ways to address inaccurate beliefs around this myth of perfection. The article can be found by clicking here.
March 27 Succession Planning: What You Can Do Today, CBA-CLE, live at CBA-CLE Classroom (Jay Fernandez and Greg Sapakoff)
April 1 Application deadline for July 2025 Bar Exam
April 1 $300 late fee applies to attorney registration on or after this date
April 14 Practicing with Professionalism, CBA-CLE webinar
April 16 Succession Planning and the Obligations of Attorneys When They Have Retained Paper Files Containing Both Original Documents and Copies, Larimer County Trust & Estate Section, Fort Collins (Jay Fernandez)
April 16 Licensed Legal Paraprofessionals: What’s It All About? Northern Colorado Seminar, Fort Collins (Justin P. Moore)
April 16 UPL: Where’s the Line? Northern Colorado Seminar, Fort Collins (E. James Wilder)
April 29 Licensed Legal Paraprofessional Exam
April 30 Last day to pay registration fee with late charges to avoid administrative suspension
May 1 LATE application filing deadline for July 2025 Bar Exam
May 1 Application portal opens for November 2024 LLP Exam
May 2 AI Round Table Discussion as part of 2025 Appellate Practice Update, CBA-CLE (panel presentation with Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter, Judge Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov, Jessica Yates, and Carl Graham, moderated by Robin Lutz Beattie and Cati Shadakofsky)
May 5 Practicing with Professionalism, CBA-CLE webinar
May 28 Swearing-In at Ellie Caulkins Opera House for February 2025 Bar Exam
May 30 Upleveling the Practice Through AI, ABA 50th National Conference on Professional Responsibility, Arlington, VA (panel presentation with Niki Black, Greg Siskind and Josh Noffke, moderated by April McMurrey)
May 31 Client Protection Rules and Their Impact, 40th ABA National Forum on Client Protection, Arlington, VA (panel presentation with Justin P. Moore, Eric A. Seiff and Michael J. Knight, Sr.)
