Introduction and Overview

On February 16, 2012, Judge Wilner transmitted a letter to various Bar leaders that stated:

For some time, the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and procedure has been working on a reorganization of the rules dealing with general court administration, attorneys, and judges. We have ready a preliminary draft of the first two segments - general court administration and attorneys.

A complete copy of the draft can be found here.

The draft deals with the following areas of the rules:

• Chapter 100 - Board of Law Examiners and Character Committees
• Chapter 200 - Admission to the Bar
• Chapter 300 - Maryland Code of Professional Conduct
• Chapter 400 - Attorney Trust Accounts
• Chapter 500 - Pro Bono Legal Service
• Chapter 600 - Client Protection Fund
• Chapter 700 - Discipline, Inactive Status, Resignation

We have set up a page dealing with each of these sections and invite (really, urge) you to make comments in the comments sections following each Chapter of the Rules below. There are only a few rules:

First, no anonymous comments will be allowed--Use your real name.

Second, make your comments under the appropriate section.

Third, keep to the matter at hand. Please, nothing nasty or scandalous.

Fourth, if you have comments that are more lengthy than is appropriate for the comments section on this blog, send them to me by e-mail in either Word, WordPerfect, or PDF format.  Please use the subject line "Comments--Proposed Modifications Maryland Rules."  I will then put the comments on the web and link to the comments, with the links contained in the appropriate section.

Chapter 100--State Board of Law Examiners and Character Committees

Chapter 100, dealing with the State Board of Law Examiners and Character Committees, can be found here.

Chapter 200, Admission to the Bar

Chapter 200, rules dealing with admission to the bar, can be found here.

Chapter 300--Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct

Chapter 300, the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct, can be found here.

Chapter 400--Attorney Trust Accounts

Chapter 400, dealing with attorney trust accounts, can be found here.

Chapter 500--Pro Bono Legal Services

Chapter 500, dealing with pro bono legal services, can be found here.

Chapter 600-Client Protection Fund

Chapter 600, dealing with the Client Protection Fund, can be found here.

Chapter 700--Discipline, Inactive Status, Resignation

This section deals with Discipline, Inactive Status, and Resignation and can be found here.