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This month, the California Supreme Court issued an order approving 69 new Rules of Professional Conduct, which will go into effect for California attorneys on Nov. 1, 2018. The current rules remain in effect until then.

The court approved 27 amended rules as a state bar committee submitted them. Justices modified and authorized 42 more. And they rejected entirely one proposed rule on a lawyer’s obligations to clients “with diminished capacity”

The California Rules of Professional Conduct are intended to regulate professional conduct of attorneys licensed by the State Bar through discipline. They have been adopted by the Board of Trustees and approved by the California Supreme Court pursuant to statute to protect the public and to promote respect and confidence in the legal profession. The rules and any related standards adopted by the Board are binding on all members of the State Bar.

The new rules are the first comprehensive changes to the rulebook in 29 years. The ethical roadmap for California’s 250,000 attorneys covers 112 pages. It was approved by all seven justices. Here are five things lawyers should know about the new rules according to the summary on law.com.

➤➤ Conflict of interest rules are broader and less case-specific. For example, a new definition of what constitutes a legal “matter” covered by conflict disclosure and non-representation requirements is more expansive now. The changes are much more conforming and much more inclusive of how lawyers nationally understand conflicts of interest.

➤➤ Prohibitions on harassment, discrimination and retaliation by lawyers, both in the workplace and in the practice of law, have been expanded. The rule, the subject of intense debate during drafting, requires “all law firm lawyers the responsibility to advocate corrective action to address known harassing or discriminatory conduct by the firm or any of its lawyers or nonlawyer personnel.”

The state bar can now open an investigation into alleged harassment or discrimination without a triggering civil finding by another agency. Lawyers who receive a related disciplinary charge from the bar will be required to notify state and federal workplace-fairness agencies. One observer said “It’s frankly as broad as about any rule in the country.”

➤➤ The rules don’t specifically mention lawyers serving clients in the marijuana industry. The rules-writing committee sent the Supreme Court a proposed rule “Rule 1.2.1” that would allow lawyers to “discuss the legal consequences of any proposed course of conduct with a client” so long as they don’t counsel that client to break the law. Tuft said the high court sent the rule back about a month ago for more work on some accompanying comments but not the language of the rule itself. Tuft said the rule should be applicable to various topics, such as immigration, where federal and state laws conflict.

➤➤ In most cases, lawyers can’t have sexual contact with their clients. This rule has received a lot of public attention. Currently, the rules bar lawyers from having sex with clients if the act is coerced or considered a form of payment for services rendered. The new rule forbids lawyer-client sex unless there was a previous consensual relationship.

➤➤ The court nixed a rule laying out a lawyer’s responsibilities in representing clients with “diminished capacities.” The justices did not explain the deletion, although they may have decided language dealing with client confidentiality and privacy may have stepped too far into the Legislature’s purview. The California Lawyers Association’s trusts and estates section had sought more clarity in the rules for attorneys practicing in this field.

Attorneys have about six months to become familiar with the rest of the 69 new rules. Ethics is a mandated continuing education topic, and this MCLE cycle will no doubt cover these new rules.