May 2008 - Court Business
| Publication year | 2008 |
| Pages | 107 |
| Citation | Vol. 37 No. 5 Pg. 107 |
2008, May, Pg. 107. May 2008 - Court Business
The Colorado Lawyer
May 2008
Vol. 37, No. 5 [Page 107]
May 2008
Vol. 37, No. 5 [Page 107]
From the Courts
Court Business
Court Business
Court Business
Court Business
Visit the related court's website for complete
text of rule changes or proposed rule changes issued by the
court. Each court's website includes corresponding forms
which are not printed in Court Business, and versions with
highlights of revisions (deletions and additions). Material
printed in Court Business appears exactly as submitted by the
court and has not been edited by the staff of The
Colorado Lawyer.
Colorado Supreme Court Rules
Committee
Notice of Public Written Comment
The Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure
Chapter 22. Professional Service Corporations
The Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure
Chapter 22. Professional Service Corporations
Rule 265. Professional Companies
and
Appendix to Chapters 18-20
and
Appendix to Chapters 18-20
The Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct
Rule 1.0. Terminology and
Rule 5.4. Professional Independence of a Lawyer
Rule 5.4. Professional Independence of a Lawyer
Deadline for Comments: July 15, 2008, 5:00
p.m.
The Colorado Supreme Court proposes to approve amendments to
C.R.C.P. Chapter 22, Professional Corporations, Rule 265
Professional Companies; and Appendix to Chapters 18-20
C.R.P.C. Rules 1.0, Terminology, and 5.4, Professional
Independence of a Lawyer. An original and eight copies of the
written comments on the proposed amended rules should be
filed with Susan J. Festag, Clerk of the Colorado Supreme
Court, at 2 E. 14th Ave., Denver, CO 80203, no later than
5:00 p.m., July 15, 2008.
By the Court:
Nancy E. Rice
Justice, Colorado Supreme Court
Note: A strikethrough version reflecting changes to
the current Rules can be found at the Court's website,
under Proposed Rule Changes, at
www.courts.state.co.us/supct/proposedrulechanges.htm.
Proposed Amendments
Chapter 22
Professional Service Corporations
Rule 265. Professional Companies
(a) Rendering Legal Services Through a Professional
Company. One or more attorneys who are licensed to
practice law in Colorado may render legal services in
Colorado through a professional company, as that term is
defined in Section (e), provided that such professional
company is established and operated in accordance with the
provisions of this Rule and the Colorado Rules of
Professional Conduct.
(1) Professional Company Name. The name of
the professional company shall comply with the provisions of
the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct regarding the
names of law firms.
(2) Owners' Liability for Professional Acts,
Errors, or Omissions. Each of the owners of the
professional company shall be deemed to agree, by reason of
the rendering of legal services by any attorney through the
professional company, that each of them who is an owner at
the time of the commission of any act, error, or omission in
the rendering of legal services by any owner or other person
for whose acts, errors, or omissions the professional company
is liable, assumes, jointly and severally to the extent
provided by this Rule, the liability of the professional
company for such act, error, or omission. Notwithstanding the
preceding sentence, any owner who has not directly
participated in the act, error, or omission in the rendering
of legal services for which liability is incurred by the
professional company does not assume such liability, except
as provided in subsection (a)(3)(D), if, at the time the act,
error, or omission occurs the professional company has
professional liability insurance that meets the minimum
requirements stated in subsection(a)(3).
(3) Professional Liability Insurance Policy
Requirements. The professional liability insurance
contemplated in subsection(a)(2) shall meet the following
minimum requirements:
(A) Professional Acts Coverage. The
professional liability insurance shall insure the
professional company against liability imposed upon it
arising out of the rendering of legal services by any
attorney through the professional company and against the
liability imposed upon it arising out of the acts, errors and
omissions of all nonattorney employees assisting in the
rendering of legal services by any attorney through the
professional company.
(B) Policy Language. The policy or policies
for the professional liability insurance may contain
reasonable provisions with respect to policy periods,
territory, claims, conditions, and other matters.
(C) Limits of Coverage. The professional
liability insurance shall be in an amount for each claim of
at least the lesser of $100,000 multiplied by the number of
attorneys who render legal services through the professional
company or $500,000. If the policy or policies for the
professional liability insurance provide for an aggregate top
limit of liability per year for all claims, the top limit
shall not be less than the lesser of $300,000 multiplied by
the number of attorneys who render legal services through the
professional company or $2,000,000.
(D) Deductibles and Defense Costs. The
policy or policies for the professional liability insurance
may provide for a deductible or self-insured retained amount
and may provide for the payment of defense or other costs out
of the stated limits of the policy. The liability assumed by
each owner of the professional company who has not directly
participated in the act, error or omission in the rendering
of legal services for which liability is incurred by the
professional company shall be the lesser of the actual
liability of the professional company in excess of insurance
available to pay such damages or the sum of the following:
(I) such deductible or retained
self-insurance; and
(II) the amounts, if any, by which the
payment of defense costs has reduced the insurance remaining
available for the payment of damages incurred by reason of
the liability of the professional company below the minimum
limit of insurance required by subsection(a)(3)(C).
(E) Determination of Coverage. An act,
error, or omission in the rendering of legal services shall
be deemed to be covered by professional liability insurance
for the purpose of this Rule if the policy or policies
include such act, error, or omission as a covered activity,
regardless of whether claims previously made against the
policy have exhausted the aggregate top limit for the
applicable time period or whether the individual claimed
amount or ultimate liability exceeds either the per claim or
aggregate top limit.
(F) Limitation of Vicarious Liability. The
liability assumed by the owners of a professional company
under this Rule is limited to the liability of the
professional company for acts, errors, or omissions incurred
in the rendering of legal services by any owner or other
person for whose acts, errors, or omissions the professional
company is liable and shall not extend to any other liability
incurred by the professional company. Liability, if any, for
any and all acts, errors, and omissions, other than acts,
errors, or omissions incurred in the rendering of legal
services by any owner or other person for whose acts, errors,
or omissions the professional company is liable, shall be as
otherwise provided by law and shall not be changed, affected,
limited, or extended by this Rule.
(b) Compliance With Rules of Professional
Conduct. Nothing in this Rule shall be deemed to
diminish or change the obligation of each attorney rendering
legal services through a professional company to comply with
the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct promulgated by
this Court.
(c) Violation of Rule; Termination of
Authority. Any violation of or failure to comply
with any of the provisions of this Rule by the professional
company may be grounds for this Court to terminate or suspend
the right of any attorney who is an owner of such
professional company to render legal services in Colorado
through a professional company.
(d) Professional Company Constituencies. A
professional company may have one or more owners that are
professional companies, so long as each such owner that is a
professional company and the professional company of which
they are owners are both established and operated in
accordance with the provisions of this Rule.
(e) "Professional Company"
Defined. For purposes of this Rule, a professional
company is a corporation, limited liability company, limited
liability partnership, limited partnership association, or
other entity that may be formed under Colorado law to
transact business or any entity that can be formed under the
law of any other jurisdiction and through which attorneys may
render legal services in that jurisdiction, except that the
term excludes a general partnership that is not a limited
liability partnership and excludes every other entity the
owners of which are subject to personal liability for the
obligations of the entity.
Appendix to Chapters 18 to 20
The Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct
Rule 1.0 Terminology
. . .
(c) "Firm" or "law firm" denotes a
partnership, professional company, or other entity or a sole
proprietorship through which a lawyer or lawyers render legal
services; or lawyers employed in a legal services
organization or the legal department of a corporation or
other organization.
. . .
(g) "Partner" denotes a member of a partnership, an
owner of a professional company, or a member of an
association authorized to practice law.
(g-1) "Professional company" has the meaning
ascribed to the term in C.R.C.P. 265.
. . .
Rule 5.4. Professional Independence of a
Lawyer
(a) A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a
nonlawyer, except that
(1) an agreement by a lawyer with the lawyer's firm, partner, or associate may provide for the payment of money, over a...
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