Comment on Proposed Changes to D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 and 1.16

Comment on Proposed Changes to D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 and 1.16

March 09, 2026

The D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee is seeking public comment on two separate proposals to amend D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 (Safekeeping Property) and 1.16 (Declining or Terminating Representation). Comments are due by close of business on May 8, 2026.

Summary of Recommendations

1. Rule 1.15: Trust Accounting and Record Keeping

The committee proposes revisions to Comments [1] and [2] to Rule 1.15(a) to:

1. Avoid exposing to sanction a lawyer who inadvertently misappropriates or commingles client funds despite handling them "with the care required of a professional fiduciary;" and
2. Provide lawyers with detailed guidance on the requirements of a professional fiduciary and for keeping "complete records."

The D.C. Court of Appeals has held that disbarment is the presumptive sanction for a lawyer for intentional or reckless misappropriation and that a six-month suspension will be imposed in the case of negligent misappropriation. The court has defined negligence so broadly in this context as to create a standard akin to strict liability for any error.

The committee thinks that a lawyer who exercises "the care required of a professional fiduciary" as required by Rule 1.15(a) Comment [1] but who inadvertently misappropriates or commingles is not negligent and therefore should not be subject to sanction if the conditions prescribed in the committee's proposed revision to Comment [1] are satisfied.

The committee therefore recommends:

1. Revising Comment [1] to identify several factors that are relevant in determining whether a lawyer holding entrusted funds has exercised the care required of a professional fiduciary, including the requirement that a lawyer maintain "complete records."
2. Revising Comment [2] to provide guidance on the specific types of records a lawyer should keep to comply with the "complete records" requirement and to enable lawyers to satisfy the proposed factors to determine if they have exercised the care required of a professional fiduciary.

2. Rule 1.16: Duty to Inquire and Assess

The committee proposes amendments to Comments [1] and [2] to D.C. Rule 1.16 to:

1. Provide further guidance on the scope of a lawyer's existing obligations to inquire about and assess the facts and circumstances regarding a matter to help lawyers avoid unwittingly becoming involved in a client's criminal and fraudulent conduct; and
2. Assist lawyers to better identify and respond to "red flags" without unnecessarily duplicating obligations that already exist in the D.C. Rules.

In August 2023, the ABA House of Delegates adopted changes to ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct Rule 1.16(a) and its Comments to clarify a lawyer's obligation to inquire and assess the facts and circumstances of a new matter before accepting representation and, under some circumstances, before continuing the representation. The impetus for these proposed amendments was lawyers' unwitting involvement in or failure to pay appropriate attention to signs or warnings of danger ("red flags") relating to a client's use of a lawyer's services to facilitate possible money laundering or terrorist financing activities.

The committee recommends that only the Comments to D.C. Rule 1.16 be revised as necessary to accomplish the goals of the ABA amendments. Because the amendments to Model Rule 1.16(a) do not impose new obligations on lawyers, the committee finds adding new language to D.C. Rule 1.16(a) unnecessary and duplicative. The obligations in the amendments to Model Rule 1.16(a) reflect obligations that lawyers already have and that exist in the D.C. Rules, most directly in D.C. Rules 1.2(e) and 1.16(a)(1).

The proposed amendments to the D.C. Comments to Rule 1.16 substantially reflect the amendments made to the ABA Model Rule Comments [1] and [2]. Because the committee is not proposing an amendment to D.C. Rule 1.16(a), the proposed revisions to D.C. Comments [1] and [2] differ in that regard.

Committee Reports and Process

The committee's reports on proposed changes to Rule 1.15 and Rule 1.16 are available online.

Written comments should be submitted by email to [email protected]no later than COB May 8, 2026 (60 days after publication of call for comment). Any future publication that references these comments will not include details that could identify commenters, regardless of whether feedback is submitted in an individual capacity or on behalf of a group or organization.

The committee's final recommendations will be transmitted to the Bar's Board of Governors, which in turn decides whether to forward such recommendations to the D.C. Court of Appeals for its consideration. Changes to the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct are made only by the Court of Appeals.