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Office of the Revisor of Statutes

PROFESSIONAL RULES

Rules on Lawyers Professional Responsibility

Rule 18.Reinstatement

(a)Petition for reinstatement.

A copy of a petition for reinstatement to practice law shall be served upon the Director. The petition, with proof of service, shall then be filed with this Court. Together with the petition served upon the Director's Office, a petitioner seeking reinstatement shall pay to the Director a fee in the same amount as that required by Rule 12(B), Rules for Admission to the Bar, for timely filings. Applications for admission to the bar following a revocation of conditional admission shall be filed with the Board of Law Examiners pursuant to Rule 16, Rules for Admission to the Bar.

(b)Investigation; report.

(1) The Director shall publish an announcement of the petition for reinstatement in a publication of general statewide circulation to attorneys soliciting comments regarding the appropriateness of the petitioner's reinstatement. Any comments made in response to such a solicitation shall be absolutely privileged and may not serve as a basis for liability in any civil lawsuit brought against the person making the statement.

(2) The Director shall investigate and report the Director's conclusions to a Panel.

(c)Recommendation.

The Panel may conduct a hearing and shall make its findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendations. The recommendation shall be served upon the petitioner and filed with this Court. Unless the petitioner or Director, within ten days of the date of service, orders a transcript and so notifies this Court, the findings of fact and conclusions shall be conclusive. If either the petitioner or the Director so orders a transcript, then none of the findings of fact or conclusions shall be conclusive, and either party may challenge any findings of fact or conclusions. A party ordering a transcript shall, within ten days of the date the transcript is ordered, file with the clerk of the appellate courts a certificate as to transcript signed by the court reporter. The certificate shall contain the date on which the transcript was ordered, the estimated completion date (which shall not exceed 30 days from the date the transcript was ordered), and a statement that satisfactory financial arrangements have been made for the transcription. A party ordering a transcript shall order and pay for an original transcript for the Court plus two copies, one for the petitioner and one for the Director. A party ordering a transcript shall specify in the initial brief to the Court the Panel's findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendations that are disputed.

(d)Hearing before Court.

There shall be a hearing before this Court on the petition unless otherwise ordered by this Court. Should this Court determine further consideration on the petition is necessary, this Court may appoint a referee and the same procedure shall be followed as under Rule 14, except subdivision (f) will not apply.

(e)General requirements for reinstatement.

(1) Unless such examination is specifically waived by this Court, no lawyer, after having been disbarred by this Court, may petition for reinstatement until the lawyer shall have successfully completed such written examinations as may be required of applicants for admission to the practice of law by the State Board of Law Examiners.

(2) No lawyer ordered reinstated to the practice of law after having been suspended or transferred to disability inactive status by this Court, and after petitioning for reinstatement under subdivision (a), shall be effectively reinstated until the lawyer shall have successfully completed such written examination as may be required for admission to the practice of law by the State Board of Law Examiners on the subject of professional responsibility.

(3) Unless specifically waived by this Court, any lawyer suspended for a fixed period of 90 days or less, and any suspended lawyer for whom the Court waives the requirements of subdivisions (a) through (d), must, within one year from the date of the suspension order, successfully complete such written examination as may be required for admission to the practice of law by the State Board of Law Examiners on the subject of professional responsibility. Except upon motion and for good cause shown, failure to successfully complete this examination shall result in automatic suspension of the lawyer effective one year after the date of the original suspension order.

(4) Unless specifically waived by this Court, no lawyer shall be reinstated to the practice of law following the lawyer's resignation, suspension, disbarment, or transfer to disability inactive status by this Court until the lawyer shall have satisfied (1) the requirements imposed under the rules for Continuing Legal Education on members of the bar as a condition to a change from a restricted to an active status; and (2) any subrogation claim against the lawyer by the Client Security Board.

(f)Reinstatement by affidavit.

Unless otherwise ordered by this Court, subdivisions (a) through (d) shall not apply to lawyers who have been suspended for a fixed period of 90 days or less. Such a suspended lawyer, and any suspended lawyer for whom the Court waives the requirements of subdivisions (a) through (d), may apply for reinstatement by filing an affidavit with the Clerk of Appellate Courts and the Director, stating that the suspended lawyer has complied with Rules 24 and 26 of these rules, is current in Continuing Legal Education requirements, and has complied with all other conditions for reinstatement imposed by the Court. After receiving the lawyer's affidavit, the Director shall promptly file a proposed order and an affidavit regarding the lawyer's compliance or lack thereof with the requirements for reinstatement. The lawyer may not resume the practice of law unless and until this Court issues a reinstatement order.

(Amended October 16, 1981; amended February 21, 1984; amended effective July 1, 1986; amended effective July 1, 1987; amended effective January 1, 1989; amended effective March 1, 1991; amended effective for lawyer discipline matters pending or commenced after August 1, 1999; amended effective September 1, 2005; amended effective July 1, 2009; amended effective October 1, 2014; amended effective January 1, 2017.)