Editor's note: The following was released by the NH Supreme Court on Oct. 7.

ARE YOU INTERESTED in helping to uphold high ethical standards for lawyers?

On Jan. 1, 2004, a new Supreme Court attorney discipline system will go into effect in New Hampshire. It has been designed to improve the effort to protect client rights and guarantee lawyers a full and fair evaluation of complaints against them. Lawyers and members of the general public who would be interested in participating in this very important public service are encouraged to complete an application for membership available at www.courts.state.nh.us/committees/profconductcomm/appattydiscproc.pdf.

Several significant changes have been made to improve the efficiency of the process. Additional staff will be hired for a new Supreme Court Attorney Discipline Office, which will evaluate and process complaints against lawyers and prepare a report for a screening committee. A new, full-time "disciplinary counsel" will present cases when necessary to hearing committee panels. The hearings panels will then report their findings to the Professional Conduct Committee for disposition.

  Volunteer members are needed for the Professional Conduct Committee, and for the new Hearings Committee and Screening Committee. See below for a brief description of each committee.

  If you are interested in participating, please complete an application for membership and submit it by Nov. 10, 2003 to James L. DeHart, New Hampshire Supreme Court Professional Conduct Committee, 4 Park Street, Suite 304, Concord, NH, 03301.

NH Attorney Discipline System

Both lawyers and members of the general public are needed to serve on the following committees of the New Hampshire attorney discipline system, which goes into effect Jan.1, 2004:

Complaint Screening Committee

The nine-member Complaint Screening Committee will consist of five lawyers and four non-lawyers. It is expected that the Committee will meet once a month in Concord and that, on average, meetings will last about half a day.

All complaints alleging professional misconduct by lawyers, filed with the Attorney Discipline Office, will be fully investigated by the office's general counsel and his or her deputy and assistants. Counsel will then prepare reports on the results of their investigations and submit them to the members of the Complaint Screening Committee to read in advance of their meetings. Committee members will have little or no writing responsibilities. Counsel will make oral presentations at the committee meetings and members will take one of the following actions:

• Table the matter and direct counsel to obtain further information.
• Dismiss the complaint with a finding of no professional misconduct, or dismiss on any other basis.
• Offer diversion to the respondent-attorney as an alternative to discipline for minor misconduct.
• Determine that a hearing is necessary and refer the matter to disciplinary counsel to prepare for a hearing before a panel of the Hearings Committee.

Hearings Committee

It is anticipated that the Hearings Committee will consist of 20 to 30 members, and as many as 15 alternates, who will be appointed to hearings panels to consider individual cases. Approximately two-thirds of the individual members will be lawyers and one-third will be non-lawyers. The number of times that members are asked to serve on a hearing panel in any given calendar year will depend on the size of the Committee and the number of cases in which hearings are required. It is expected that members may be asked to sit on four to six hearing panels a year.

When the disciplinary counsel, acting on the recommendation of the screening committee, makes a request for a hearing, the Hearings Committee chair will appoint a hearing panel from the Committee's members.

Each hearing panel will consist of three to five members, with at least one non-lawyer member on each panel. The Hearings Committee chair shall designate a hearing panel chair as well as a reporter, who will be responsible for writing the panel report.

The hearing panel, in a written report, will make findings of fact and conclusions and recommend that the Professional Conduct Committee either:

• make findings of misconduct and recommend sanctions, or,
• dismiss the complaint with findings of no professional misconduct, with or without a warning.

The ability to write is an important qualification for this committee.

 Professional Conduct Committee

The 12-member Professional Conduct Committee will consist of eight lawyers and four non-lawyers. It is anticipated that the Committee will meet in Concord on the third Wednesday of the month. Meetings may last about half a day. The ability to write decisions is an important qualification for membership on the Professional Conduct Committee.

The Committee, acting as a whole, will consider hearing panel reports and memoranda submitted by respondent-attorneys and disciplinary counsel. When requested, the Committee will hold oral arguments.

The Committee will consider the record and take one of the following actions:

• Dismiss complaints, with or without a warning; administer a reprimand, public censure or a suspension not to exceed six months.
• Attach appropriate conditions to any discipline it imposes. 
• Offer diversion to respondent-attorneys, if appropriate. 
• Direct disciplinary counsel to file a petition in the New Hampshire Supreme Court on all matters in which the Committee decides that the appropriate sanction should be disbarment or suspension of more than six months.
• Where appropriate, assess to a disciplined respondent-attorney expenses incurred by the attorney discipline system in the investigation and enforcement of discipline.

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