The Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation are requesting public comments on a report released today that provides recommendations for reforming attorney regulations to meet the changing legal market. The recommendations are the result of nine months of work by the CBA/CBF’s Task Force on the Sustainable Practice of Law & Innovation. Public comments will be accepted through August 21.
The task force was created in October 2019 to address failures in the consumer legal market, in which more lawyers are struggling to make ends meet, but more people are also going without legal help. The task force brought together a diverse group of more than 50 lawyers and legal professionals from across Illinois to develop a series of regulatory reform recommendations to address these challenges. The recommendations fall into three categories:
- Helping lawyers connect to more potential clients and offer more affordable and accessible solutions.
- Helping people to recognize they have a legal problem and identify where they can turn for affordable and reliable legal help.
- Spurring more innovation in the profession and the delivery of services.
In each area, the task force recommends changes to modernize the Rules of Professional Conduct and related Supreme Court Rules.
The task force’s recommendations considered ongoing regulatory reform work that is happening in many states, including Arizona, California, and Utah. According to the press release, the CBA and CBF are the first voluntary bar groups in the country to take on this challenge and deliver a report and recommendations for public comment.
A full copy of the report and recommendations can be found on the CBF’s website. Interested parties can submit written feedback online or sign up to provide brief testimony at a Zoom town hall meeting, currently scheduled for August 11 and 12.
After the public comment period, the task force will revise its recommendations and seek approval from the CBA and CBF boards. The final report and recommendations will be submitted to the Illinois Supreme Court this fall.
If you have questions, please contact CBF Director of Innovation & the JEP Jessica Bednarz at jbednarz@chicagobar.org or (312) 546-9939.
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