Montana Lawyer October/November 2025

COURT NEWS

Commission on Practice and ODC Propose Amendments to Lawyer Discipline Rules

The Montana Commission on Practice and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel have submitted proposed revisions to the Montana Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement to the Montana Supreme Court. As of the date of printing, the court has yet to open public comment for the proposed changes. The full petition and supporting materials may be viewed at www.montanabar.org/news. Among the proposed changes is the creation of an interim administrator program. The proposed program will require all private practice attorneys to designate an “interim admin istrator” and identify a “person with knowledge,” as part of their annual licensing. The stated goal of the program is to better protect clients and the public in cases where a lawyer may become incapacitated. According to the Petition: “The new Rule 34 would require all lawyers in private practice to designate an interim administrator, who can be an individual, or a law firm, to ensure client matters are properly transi tioned in the event of an emergency with the affected lawyer.” Seven other states already have adopted some form of interim administrator rule: Michigan, Maine, South Carolina, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, and Iowa. According to COP and ODC, the proposed Montana rule is modeled most closely on Michigan’s rule. Other proposed changes target certain procedures before The Montana Workers’ Compensation Court (WCC) has issued an order addressing procedural rules as a result of the Court’s administrative transition from the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) to the Judicial Branch. The transfer, mandated by House Bill 516 during the 2023 legislative ses sion, took effect on July 1, 2025. Under the new structure, the WCC will no longer be administratively attached to the DLI. As a result, the Department will repeal all existing WCC procedural rules cur rently contained in Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) 24.5, which have governed the Court’s operations. In an order dated October 21, 2025, Judge Lee Bruner directed that the current WCC Rules — specifically ARM 24.5.101 and 24.5.301 through 24.5.360 — are formally adopted as the Rules of Court for the WCC effective as of the time of transition. These Rules of Court will remain in place until such time as the WCC and its Rules Committee develop and promulgate new local court rules under the authority of

the COP, including creating Montana Supreme Court pre selected panel of eligible attorneys and lay people to sit on the COP in the event of a conflict, where another member of COP cannot be substituted. The panel will all have received training on lawyer disciplinary procedures. Similarly, the proposed changes include the creation of another court pre-selected panel of attorneys for ODC to utilize as outside investigators and special counsel. The petition also requests that COP be given authority to ”[p]rocess, investigate, and issue an order of dismissal or findings and recommendations to the Supreme Court regarding grievances filed against Chief Disciplinary Counsel, and/or other Office of Disciplinary Counsel staff.” COP and ODC also propose amending Rule 10 cover ing ODC central intake process to assure that “any client of a lawyer, judge or other individual with a cognizable inter est regarding the lawyers conduct,” may make a grievance, a change from the existing and broad “any member of the public” standard in the existing rule. The full petition, including additional changes, is avail able on the Montana Supreme Court’s website under Case No. AF 06-0628. Interested parties may review the proposed amendments and submit written comments to the Clerk of the Supreme Court within the comment period the court may designate. the Judiciary. The order clarifies that the WCC is already in the process of preparing its own set of procedural rules consistent with its new status within the Judicial Branch. This transitional mea sure ensures that existing procedural standards will continue uninterrupted during the administrative handoff, preserving consistency for practitioners and litigants. Judge Bruner’s order was circulated to members of the Montana Workers’ Compensation Bar and emphasizes the Court’s commitment to a smooth transition as it assumes its new judicial placement. The forthcoming rulemaking process will provide an opportunity to modernize and streamline WCC procedures in alignment with statewide judicial admin istration standards. The Order on Rules and related updates can be accessed on the Montana Workers’ Compensation Court’s website.

Workers’ Compensation Court Issues Order on Rules Ahead of July 2025 Transition

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