Yesterday, the Vermont Supreme Court issued an order amending Rule 1.8 of the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct. The amendment reads:
- “A lawyer shall not have sexual relations with a client unless a consensual sexual relationship existed between them when the client-lawyer relationship commenced.”
The Court’s order is HERE.
The Professional Responsibility Board proposed the amendment last fall. As I noted at the time,
“the Board’s position is that the imbalance of power inherent in the professional relationship between lawyer and client necessitates an absolute ban on a sexual relationship between the two.”
The amendment goes into effect on March 12, 2018.
Related posts:
- Attorney-Client Sex: Do we need a rule?
- Attorney-Client Sex: It’s time for a rule
- A Sex Rule
- Proposed Rule on Attorney-Client Sex Published for Comment
- Comment Period on Proposed Sex Rule Closes on December 18
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