Rule 19-503 - Reporting Pro Bono Legal Service(a)Definitions. In this Rule, (1) "AIS means the Attorney Information System, (2) "AOC means the Administrative Office of the Courts, and (3) "fiscal year means the 12-month period commencing on July 1 and ending the following June 30.(b)Required as a Condition of Practice. As a condition precedent to the practice of law, each attorney admitted to practice in Maryland, by September 10 of each year and in accordance with this Rule, shall file electronically, through AIS, a Pro Bono Legal Service Report. On or before July 10 of each year, AOC shall send electronically to each attorney registered with AIS a Pro Bono Legal Service Report approved by the State Court Administrator. The first notice to be sent under this Rule shall be emailed to attorneys on or before July 10, 2019 and shall require attorneys to report information with respect to pro bono legal service during the period January 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019. This report shall be filed electronically on or before September 10, 2019. Thereafter, the Report shall include information with respect to pro bono legal service during the preceding fiscal year. Committee note: The purpose of pro bono legal service reporting is to document the pro bono legal service performed by attorneys in Maryland and determine the effectiveness of the Local Pro Bono Action Plans, the State Pro Bono Action Plan, the Rules in this Chapter, and Rule 19-306.1 (6.1) of the Maryland Attorneys' Rules of Professional Conduct.
(c)Enforcement.(1)Notice of Default. As soon as practicable after February 10 of each year, AOC shall electronically notify each defaulting attorney of the attorney's failure to file the Pro Bono Legal Service Report for the preceding fiscal year. The notice shall (A) state that the attorney has not filed the Report, and (B) state that continued failure to file the Report may result in the entry of an order by the Supreme Court prohibiting the attorney from practicing law in Maryland.(2)Additional Discretionary Notice of Default. In addition to the electronic notice, AOC may give additional notice in other ways to defaulting attorneys.(3)List of Defaulting Attorneys. As soon as practicable after February 10 of each year but no later than March 10, AOC shall: (A) prepare, certify, and transmit to the Supreme Court a list that includes the name and, unless the attorney has elected to keep the address confidential, the address of each attorney engaged in the practice of law who has failed to file the Pro Bono Legal Service Report for the preceding reporting period;(B) include with the list a proposed Decertification Order stating the name and, unless the attorney has elected to keep the address confidential, the address of each attorney who has failed to file the Pro Bono Legal Service Report; and(C) at the request of the Court, furnish additional information from its records or give further notice to the defaulting attorneys.(4)Decertification Order. If satisfied that AOC has given the required notice to the attorneys named in the proposed Decertification Order, the Supreme Court shall enter a Decertification Order prohibiting each of them from practicing law in Maryland until such time as a Recertification Order applicable to a listed attorney is entered pursuant to subsection (c)(6) of this Rule. If the Court concludes that an attorney was not given the required notice, it shall delete that attorney's name from the proposed Order.(5)Transmittal of Decertification Order. AOC shall transmit a copy of the Decertification Order to each attorney named in the Order.(6)Recertification; Reinstatement(A) Notice to Supreme Court. If a decertified attorney thereafter files the outstanding Pro Bono Legal Service Report, AOC shall inform the Supreme Court and request the Court to enter an order that recertifies the attorney and terminates the decertification.(B) Confirmation of Recertification. Upon entry of that order, AOC promptly shall transmit confirmation to the attorney. After an attorney is recertified, the fact that the attorney had been decertified need not be disclosed by the attorney in response to a request for information as to whether the attorney has been the subject of a disciplinary or remedial proceeding.(7)Duty of Clerk of Supreme Court. Upon entry of each Decertification Order and each Recertification Order entered pursuant to this Rule, the Clerk of the Supreme Court shall comply with Rule 19-761.(d)Certain Information Furnished to the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service. AOC promptly shall submit to the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service a compilation of non-identifying information and data from the Pro Bono Legal Service Reports.(e)Confidentiality. Pro Bono Legal Service Reports are confidential and are not subject to inspection or disclosure under Code, General Provisions Article, § 4-301. Neither AIS nor AOC shall release those Reports to any person, except as provided in this Rule or upon order of the Supreme Court. Non-identifying information and data contained in an attorney's Pro Bono Legal Service Report are not confidential. This Rule is derived from former Rule 16-903(2016).
Adopted June 6, 2016, eff. 7/1/2016. Amended Dec. 4, 2018, eff. 1/1/2019; amended April 21, 2023, eff. 4/1/2023.HISTORICAL NOTES
2018 Orders
The December 4, 2018 order amended this Rule to accommodate the implementation of the Attorney Information System (AIS), to modify dates when certain notices and responses are due, and to make certain style changes.