This Page was created to post BEA Responses to any of RTL’s website content.  RTL asks that BEA responses begin by responding to the questions already posed to them (some since 2017), including:

• In the case of DC, please:

• explain why DC has never enforced its Honor Code (Rule 8.3);

• respond to the NDA-related inquiries posed in 2017 and 2020, including “whether our ethics rules permit an attorney to use an NDA to prevent disclosure of attorney fraud or other ethics violations to the extent reasonably necessary to prevent, mitigate or rectify substantial financial harm to others resulting from the violations;” and

• provide good faith bases for their 2015 dismissal of a report of an attorney’s threat to sue if his violations were reported to the Bar.

• In the case of VT, please: 

• explain why VT has never enforced its Rules 8.3 or Rule 3.1; 

• respond to this NDA inquiry as posed in 2019: “whether Vermont’s ethics rules permit an attorney to use a non-disclosure agreement to prevent disclosure of attorney fraud or other ethics violations to the extent reasonably necessary to prevent, mitigate or rectify substantial financial harm to clients or others resulting from the violations.” 

• provide good faith bases for their assertions that BEAs cannot enforce 3.1 while litigation is pending (even for years); and that 8.3 does not apply to false statements of out-of-State lawyers even when the statements are made in VT and cost Vermonters millions of dollars.