(b) A lawyer shall not use information relating to representation of a client to the disadvantage of the client unless the client consents after consultation.

(c) A lawyer shall not prepare an instrument giving the lawyer or a person related to the lawyer as parent, child, sibling, or spouse any substantial gift from a client, including a testamentary gift, except where the client is related to the donee.

(d) Prior to the conclusion of representation of a client, a lawyer shall not make or negotiate an agreement giving the lawyer literary or media rights to a portrayal or account based in substantial part on information relating to the representation.

(e) A lawyer shall not provide financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation, except that:

(f) A lawyer shall not accept compensation for representing a client from one other than the client unless:

(g) A lawyer who represents two or more clients shall not participate in making an aggregate settlement of the claims of or against the clients, unless each client consents after consultation, including disclosure of the existence and nature of all the claims and of the participation of each person in the settlement.

(h) A lawyer shall not make an agreement prospectively limiting the lawyer's liability to a client for malpractice unless permitted by law and the client is independently represented in making the agreement, or settle a claim for such liability with an unrepresented client or former client without first advising that person in writing that independent representation is appropriate in connection therewith.

(i) A lawyer related to another lawyer as parent, child, sibling or spouse shall not represent a client in a representation directly adverse to a person who the lawyer knows is represented by the other lawyer except upon consent by the client after consultation regarding the relationship.

(j) A lawyer shall not acquire a proprietary interest in the cause of action or subject matter of litigation the lawyer is conducting for a client, except that the lawyer may:

(k) A lawyer shall not have sexual relations with a current client unless a consensual sexual relationship existed between them when the lawyer-client relationship commenced. For purposes of this paragraph:

(a) Except as provided in this rule, Wwhile lawyers are associated in a firm, none of them shall knowingly represent a client when any one of them practicing alone would be prohibited from doing so by Rules 1.7, 1.8(c), 1.9 or 2.2.

(b) When a lawyer becomes associated with a firm, the firm may not knowingly represent a person in the same or a substantially related matter in which that lawyer, or a firm with which the lawyer was associated, had previously represented a client whose interests were are materially adverse to that person and about whom the lawyer had acquired information protected by Rules 1.6 and 1.9(b) that is material to the matter unless there is no reasonably apparent risk that confidential information of the previously represented client will be used with material adverse effect on that client because:

(c) When a lawyer has terminated an association with a firm, the firm is not prohibited from thereafter representing a person with interests materially adverse to those of a client represented by the formerly associated lawyer unless:

(d) A disqualification prescribed by this Rule may be waived by the affected client under the conditions stated in Rule 1.7.

(a) All funds of clients or third persons paid to held by a lawyer or law firm in connection with a representation shall be deposited in one or more identifiable interest bearing trust accounts as set forth in paragraphs (cd) through (fg). No funds belonging to the lawyer or law firm shall be deposited therein except as follows:

(bc) A lawyer shall:

(cd) Each trust account referred to in paragraph (a) shall be an interest bearing account in a bank, savings bank, trust company, savings and loan association, savings association, credit union, or federally regulated investment company selected by a lawyer in the exercise of ordinary prudence.

(de) A lawyer who receives client or third person funds shall maintain a pooled interest bearing trust account for deposit of client funds that are nominal in amount or expected to be held for a short period of time. The interest accruing on this account, net of any transaction costs, shall be paid to the Lawyer Trust Account Board established by the Minnesota Supreme Court.

(ef) All client or third person funds shall be deposited in the account specified in paragraph (de) unless they are deposited in a:

(fg) In determining whether to use the account specified in paragraph (de) or an account specified in paragraph (ef), a lawyer shall take into consideration the following factors:

(gh) Every lawyer engaged in private practice of law shall maintain or cause to be maintained on a current basis, books and records sufficient to demonstrate income derived from, and expenses related to, the lawyer’s private practice of law, and to establish compliance with paragraphs (a) through (ef). The books and records shall be preserved for at least six years following the end of the taxable year to which they relate or, as to books and records relating to funds or property of clients or third persons, for at least six years after completion of the employment to which they relate.

(hi) Every lawyer subject to paragraph (gh) shall certify, in connection with the annual renewal of the lawyer’s registration and in such form as the Clerk of the Appellate Court may prescribe, that the lawyer or the lawyer’s law firm maintains books and records as required by paragraph (gh).

(ij) Lawyer trust accounts shall be maintained only in financial institutions approved by the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility.

(jk) A financial institution shall be approved as a depository for lawyer trust accounts if it shall file with the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility an agreement, in a form provided by the Office, to report to the Office in the event any properly payable instrument is presented against a lawyer trust account containing insufficient funds, irrespective of whether or not the instrument is honored. The Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board shall establish rules governing approval and termination of approved status for financial institutions, and shall annually publish a list of approved financial institutions. No trust account shall be maintained in any financial institution which does not agree to make such reports. Any such agreement shall apply to all branches of the financial institution and shall not be cancelled canceled except upon (3) days notice in writing to the Office.

(kl) The overdraft notification agreement shall provide that all reports made by the financial institution shall be in the following format:

Such reports shall be made simultaneously with, and within the time provided by law for notice of dishonor, if any. If an instrument presented against insufficient funds is honored, then the report shall be made within (5) banking days of the date of presentation for payment against insufficient funds.

(lm) Every lawyer practicing or admitted to practice in this jurisdiction shall, as a condition thereof, be conclusively deemed to have consented to the reporting and production requirements mandated by this rule.

(mn) Nothing herein shall preclude a financial institution from charging a particular lawyer or law firm for the reasonable cost of producing the reports and records required by this rule.

(no) Definitions

"Financial Institution"—includes banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, savings banks and any other business or person which accepts for deposit funds held in trust by lawyers.

"Properly payable"—refers to an instrument which, if presented in the normal course of business, is in a form requiring payment under the laws of this jurisdiction.

"Notice of dishonor"—refers to the notice which a financial institution is required to give, under the laws of this jurisdiction, upon presentation of an instrument which the institution dishonors.

(a) A lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a nonlawyer, except that:

(b) A lawyer shall not form a partnership with a nonlawyer if any of the activities of the partnership consist of the practice of law.

(c) A lawyer shall not permit a person who recommends, employs, or pays the lawyer to render legal services for another to direct or regulate the lawyer's professional judgment in rendering such legal services.

(d) A lawyer shall not practice with or in the form of a professional firm corporation or association authorized to practice law for a profit, if a nonlawyer:

(a) For purposes of this rule "employ" means to engage the services of another, including employees, agents, independent contractors and consultants, regardless of whether any compensation is paid.

(a) Assignment; assistance. The District Chair may investigate or assign investigation of the complaint to one or more of the Committee’s members, and may request the Director’s assistance in making the investigation. The investigation may be conducted by means of written and telephonic communication and personal interviews.

(b) Report. The investigator’s report and recommendations shall be submitted for review and approval to the District Chair, the Chair’s designee or to a committee designated for this purpose by the District Chair, prior to its submission to the Director. The report shall include a recommendation that the Director:

If the report recommends discipline not warranted or admonition, the investigator shall include in the report a draft letter of disposition in a format prescribed by the Director.

(c) Time. The investigation shall be completed and the report made promptly and, in any event within 45 90 days after the District Committee received the complaint, unless good cause exists. If the report is not made within 45 90 days, the District Chair or the Chair’s designee within that time shall notify the Director of the reasons for the delay. If a District Committee has a pattern of responding substantially beyond the 45 90 day limitation, the Director shall advise the Board and the Chair shall seek to remedy the matter through the President of the appropriate District Bar Association.

(d) Removal. The Director may at any time and for any reason remove a complaint from a District Committee’s consideration by notifying the District Chair of the removal.

(e) Notice to complainant. The Director shall keep the complainant advised of the progress of the proceedings.

(a) Charges; setting pre-hearing meeting. If the matter is to be submitted to a Panel, the Director shall prepare charges of unprofessional conduct, assign them to a Panel by rotation, schedule a pre-hearing meeting, and notify the lawyer of:

(b) Admission of Answer to Charges. The lawyer may admit some or all charges. Not less than seven days before the pre-hearing meeting, the lawyer shall serve on the Director an answer to the charges. The answer may deny or admit any accusations or state any defense or privilege.

(c) Request for admission. Either party may serve upon the other a request for admission. The request shall be made before the pre-hearing meeting or within ten days thereafter. The Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts applicable to requests for admissions govern, except that the time for answers or objections is ten days and the Panel Chair or Vice-Chair shall rule upon any objections. If a party fails to admit, the Panel may award expenses as permitted by the Rules of Civil Procedure for District Courts.

(d) Deposition. Either party may take a deposition as provided by the Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts. A deposition under this Rule may be taken before the pre-hearing meeting or within ten days thereafter. The District Court of Ramsey County shall have jurisdiction over issuance of subpoenas and over motions arising from the deposition. The lawyer shall be denominated by number or randomly selected initials in any District Court proceedings.

(e) Pre-hearing meeting. The Director and the lawyer shall attend a pre-hearing meeting. At the meeting:

(f) Setting Panel hearing. Promptly after the pre-hearing meeting, the Director shall schedule a hearing by the Panel on the charges and notify the lawyer of:

(g) Referee probable cause hearing. Upon the certification of the Panel Chair and the Board Chair to the Court that extraordinary circumstances indicate that a matter is not suitable for submission to a Panel under this Rule, because of exceptional complexity or other reasons, the Court may appoint a referee with directions to conduct a probable cause hearing acting as a Panel would under this Rule, or the Court may remand the matter to a Panel under this Rule with instructions, or the Court may direct the Director to file with this Court a petition for disciplinary action under Rule 12(a). If a referee is appointed to substitute for a Panel, the referee shall have the powers of a district court judge and Ramsey County District Court shall not exercise such powers in such case. If the referee so appointed determines there is probable cause as to any charge and a petition for disciplinary action is filed in this Court, the Court may appoint the same referee to conduct a hearing on the petition for disciplinary action under Rule 14. If a referee appointed under Rule 14 considers all of the evidence presented at the probable cause hearing, a transcript of that hearing shall be made part of the public record.

(h) Form of evidence at Panel hearing. The Panel shall receive evidence only in the form of affidavits, depositions or other documents except for testimony by:

(i) Procedure at Panel hearing. Unless the Panel for cause otherwise permits, the Panel hearing shall proceed as follows:

(j) Disposition. After the hearing, the Panel shall:

(k) Notification. The Director shall notify the lawyer, the complainant, if any, and the District Committee, if any, that has the complaint, of the Panel’s disposition. The notification to the complainant, if any, shall inform the complainant of the right to petition for review under subdivision (l). If the Panel affirmed the Director’s admonition, the notification to the lawyer shall inform the lawyer of the right to appeal to the Supreme Court under subdivision (m).

(l) Complainant’s petition for review. If not satisfied with the Panel’s disposition, the complainant may within 14 days file with the Clerk of the Appellate Courts a petition for review. The clerk shall notify the respondent and the Board Chair of the petition. The respondent shall be denominated by number or randomly selected initials in the proceeding. This Court will grant review only if the petition shows that the Panel acted arbitrarily, capriciously, or unreasonably. If the Court grants review, it may order such proceedings as it deems appropriate. Upon conclusion of such proceedings, the Court may dismiss the petition or, if it finds that the Panel acted arbitrarily, capriciously, or unreasonably, remand the matter to the same or a different Panel, direct the filing of a petition for disciplinary action, or take any other action as the interest of justice may require.

(m) Respondent’s appeal to Supreme Court. The lawyer may appeal a Panel’s affirmance of the Director’s admonition or an admonition issued by a Panel by filing a notice of appeal and seven copies thereof with the Clerk of Appellate Courts and by serving a copy on the Director within 30 days after being notified of the Panel’s action. The respondent shall be denominated by number or randomly selected initials in the proceeding. This Court may review the matter on the record or order such further proceedings as it deems appropriate. Upon conclusion of such proceedings, the Court may either affirm the decision or make such other disposition as it deems appropriate.

(n) Manner of recording. Proceedings at a Panel hearing or deposition may be recorded by sound recording or audio-video recording if the notification so specifies. A party may nevertheless arrange for stenographic recording at the party’s own expense. The Director shall arrange for a court reporter to make a record of the proceedings as in civil cases.

(o) Panel Chair authority. Requests or disputes arising under this Rule before the Panel hearing commences may be determined by the Panel Chair or Vice-Chair. For good cause shown, the Panel Chair or Vice-Chair may shorten or enlarge time periods for discovery under this Rule.

(a) Referee. This Court may appoint a referee with directions to hear and report the evidence submitted for or against the petition for disciplinary action.

(b) Conduct of hearing before referee. Unless this Court otherwise directs, the hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Civil Procedure applicable to district courts and the referee shall have all the powers of a district court judge.

(c) Subpoenas. The District Court of Ramsey County shall issue subpoenas. The referee shall have jurisdiction to determine all motions arising from the issuance and enforcement of subpoenas.

(d) Record. The referee shall appoint a court reporter to make a record of the proceedings as in civil cases.

(e) Referee’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The referee shall make findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendations, file them with this Court, and notify the respondent and the Director of them. Unless the respondent or Director, within ten days, orders a transcript and so notifies this Court, the findings of fact and conclusions shall be conclusive. If either the respondent or the Director so orders a transcript, then none of the findings of fact or conclusions shall be conclusive, and either party may challenge any findings of fact or conclusions. One ordering a transcript within ten days of the date the transcript is ordered shall file with the clerk of appellate courts a certificate as to transcript signed by the court reporter. The certificate shall contain the date on which the transcript was ordered, the estimated completion date (which shall not exceed 30 days from the date the transcript was ordered), and a statement that satisfactory financial arrangements have been made for the transcription. One ordering a transcript shall order and pay for an original transcript for the Court plus two copies, one copy for the respondent and one for the Director. One ordering a transcript shall specify in the initial brief to the Court the referee’s findings of fact, conclusions and recommendations that are disputed.

(f) Panel as referee. Upon written agreement of an attorney, the Panel Chair and the Director, at any time, this Court may appoint the Panel which is to conduct or has already conducted the probable cause hearing as its referee to hear and report the evidence submitted for or against the petition for disciplinary action. Upon such appointment, the Panel shall proceed under Rule 14 as the Court’s referee, except that if the Panel considers evidence already presented at the Panel hearing, a transcript of the hearing shall be made part of the public record. The District Court of Ramsey County shall continue to have the jurisdiction over discovery and subpoenas in Rule 9(d) and (h).

(g) Hearing before Court. This Court within ten days of the referee’s findings, conclusions and recommendations, shall set a time for hearing before this Court. The order shall specify times for briefs and oral arguments. In all matters in which the Director seeks discipline, the cover of the main brief of the Director shall be blue; the main brief of the respondent, red; and any reply brief shall be gray. In a matter in which reinstatement is sought pursuant to Rule 18 of these Rules, the cover of the respondent’s main brief shall be blue; that of the main brief of the Director, red; and that of any reply brief, gray. The matter shall be heard upon the record, briefs, and arguments.

(a) Petition for reinstatement. A petition for reinstatement to practice law shall be served upon the Director and the President of the State Bar Association. The original petition, with proof of service, and seven copies, shall then be filed with this Court. Together with the petition served upon the Director’s Office, a petitioner seeking reinstatement shall pay to the Director a fee of $300.

(b) Investigation; report. The Director shall investigate and report the Director’s conclusions to a Panel.

(c) Recommendation. The Panel may conduct a hearing and shall make its recommendation. The recommendation shall be served upon the petitioner and filed with this Court.

(d) Hearing before Court. There shall be a hearing before this Court on the petition unless otherwise ordered by this Court. This Court may appoint a referee. If a referee is appointed, the same procedure shall be followed as under Rule 14.

(f) Reinstatement by affidavit. Unless otherwise ordered by this Court, subdivisions (a) through (d) shall not apply to lawyers who have been suspended for a fixed period of ninety (90) days or less. Such a suspended lawyer, and any suspended lawyer for whom the Court waives the requirements of subdivisions (a) through (d), may apply for reinstatement by filing an affidavit with the Clerk of Appellate Courts and the Director, stating that the suspended lawyer has complied with Rules 24 and 26 of these rules, is current in Continuing Legal Education requirements, and has complied with all other conditions for reinstatement imposed by the Court. After receiving the lawyer’s affidavit, the Director shall promptly file a proposed order and an affidavit regarding the lawyer’s compliance or lack thereof with the requirements for reinstatement. The lawyer shall not resume the practice of law unless and until this Court issues a reinstatement order.

(a) Criminal conviction. A lawyer’s criminal conviction in any American jurisdiction, even if upon a plea of nolo contendere or subject to appellate review, is, in proceedings under these Rules, conclusive evidence that the lawyer committed the conduct for which the lawyer was convicted. The same is true of a conviction in a foreign country if the facts and circumstances surrounding the conviction indicate that the lawyer was accorded fundamental fairness and due process.

(c) Stipulation. Unless the referee or this Court otherwise directs or the stipulation otherwise provides, a stipulation before a Panel remains in effect at subsequent proceedings regarding the same matter before the referee or this Court.

(d) Panel proceedings. Subject to the Rules of Civil Procedure for District Courts and the Rules of Evidence, evidence obtained through a request for admission, deposition, or hearing under Rule 9 is admissible in proceedings before the referee or this Court.

(e) Admission. Subject to the Rules of Evidence, a lawyer’s admission of unprofessional conduct is admissible in proceedings under these Rules.