Vol. 34, No. 3, 18. Bar Counsel Report.

• Author: by Mark W. Gifford Bar Counsel Wyoming State Bar

Wyoming Bar Journal

2011.

Vol. 34, No. 3, 18.

Bar Counsel Report

Wyoming Bar JournalIssue: June, 2011Bar Counsel Reportby Mark W. Gifford Bar Counsel Wyoming State BarRevising tlie Disciplinary Code

For those who may have missed it -I and not many did, judging by the number of hits on the State Bar website - a fairly comprehensive revision of the Disciplinary Code is underway. By the time this article goes to print, the Wyoming Supreme Court will have the proposed changes in hand and under .consideration.

Shortly after beginning my duties as Bar Counsel early this year, I noticed a number of items needing updating in the code - for example, numerous references to "disability inactive" status, a classification that was discontinued a few years ago, and was essentially replaced with "incapacitated" status. In other areas, the code needed cleaning up. There were some inconsistencies to be resolved, and some things that were a necessary part of the function of Bar Counsel which were not to be found in the code. Some important issues, such as what input the complainant should have with respect to proposed stipulated discipline, were not addressed at all.

The revision process began with me. My draft was vetted with both the Board of Professional Responsibility and the Peer Review Panel. The revisions that emerged from that process were then submitted to the Board of Officers and Commissioners, which approved them for circulation to (and comment by) members of the State Bar. A "call for comments" appeared on the State Bar website on April 19. Over the next three weeks, the proposed revisions were downloaded more than 500 times. My office received a number of very constructive comments and suggestions, many of which will be incorporated into the final proposal before it is submitted to the Supreme Court. My thanks to all who took the time to voice concerns and propose changes to the proposed revisions.

One revision which raised the blood pressure of a number of attorneys is a provision that Bar Counsel may initiate an investigation "upon receipt of information from any source which may suggest a...