Rule 2-53. Reinstatement after Suspension, Disbarment or Resignation

(a) An attorney who has been suspended from the practice of law in this state for a period of one year or more or has remained under suspension pursuant to an order of interim suspension for a period of one year or more shall be required to apply for reinstatement in accordance with this section, unless the court that imposed the discipline expressly provided in its order that such application is not required. An attorney who has been suspended for less than one year need not file an application for reinstatement pursuant to this section, unless otherwise ordered by the court at the time the discipline was imposed.

(b) An attorney who was disbarred or resigned shall be required to apply for reinstatement pursuant to this section, but shall not be eligible to do so until after five years from the effective date of disbarment or acceptance by the court of the resignation, unless the court that imposed the discipline expressly provided a shorter period of disbarment or resignation in its order. No attorney who has resigned from the bar and waived the privilege of applying for readmission or reinstatement to the bar at any future time shall be eligible to apply for readmission or reinstatement to the bar under this rule.

(c) In no event shall an application for reinstatement by an attorney disbarred pursuant to the provisions of Section 2-47A be considered until after twelve years from the effective date of the disbarment. No such application may be granted unless the attorney provides satisfactory evidence that full restitution has been made of all sums found to be knowingly misappropriated, including, but not limited to, restitution to the client security fund for all claims paid resulting from the attorney's dishonest misconduct.

(d) Unless otherwise ordered by the court, an application for reinstatement shall not be filed until:

(1) The applicant is in compliance with Sections 2-27 (d), 2-70 and 2-80;

(2) The applicant is no longer the subject of any pending disciplinary proceedings or investigations;

(3) The applicant has passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) not more than six months prior to the filing of the application;

(4) The applicant has successfully completed any criminal sentence including, but not limited to, a sentence of incarceration, probation, parole, supervised release, or period of sex offender registration and has fully complied with any orders regarding conditions, restitution, criminal penalties or fines;

(5) The applicant has fully complied with all conditions imposed pursuant to the order of discipline. If an applicant asserts that a certain disciplinary condition is impossible to fulfill, he or she must apply to the court that ordered the condition for relief from that condition prior to filing an application for reinstatement;

(6) The bar examining committee has received an application fee. The fee shall be established by the chief court administrator and shall be expended in the manner provided by Section 222 of these rules.

(e) An application for reinstatement shall be filed with the clerk of the Superior Court in the jurisdiction that issued the discipline. The application shall be filed under oath and on a form approved by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator. The application shall be accompanied by proof of payment of the application fee to the bar examining committee.

(f) The application shall be referred by the clerk of the Superior Court where it is filed to the chief justice or designee, who shall refer the matter to a standing committee on recommendations for admission to the bar whose members do not maintain their primary office in the same judicial district as the applicant.

(g) The clerk of the Superior Court shall give notice of the pendency of the application to the state's attorney of that court's judicial district, the grievance counsel to the grievance panel whose jurisdiction includes that judicial district court location, the Statewide Grievance Committee, the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, the client security fund committee, the attorney or attorneys appointed by the court pursuant to Section 2-64, and to all complainants whose complaints against the attorney resulted in the discipline for which the attorney was disbarred or suspended or resigned. The clerk shall also promptly publish notice on the Judicial Branch website, in the Connecticut Law Journal, and in a newspaper with substantial distribution in the judicial district where the application was filed.

(h) Within sixty days of the referral from the chief justice to a standing committee, the Statewide Grievance Committee and the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel shall file a report with the standing committee, which report may include additional relevant information, commentary in the information provided in the application and recommendations on whether the applicant should be reinstated. Both the Statewide Grievance Committee and the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel may file an appearance and participate in any investigation into the application and at any hearing before the standing committee, and at any court proceeding thereon. All filings by the Statewide Grievance Committee and the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel and any other party shall be served and certified to all other parties pursuant to Section 10-12.

(i) The standing committee shall investigate the application, hold hearings pertaining thereto and render a report with its recommendations to the court. The standing committee shall give written notice of all hearings to the applicant, the state's attorney of the court's judicial district, the grievance counsel to the grievance panel whose jurisdiction includes that judicial district location where the application was filed, the Statewide Grievance Committee, the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, the client security fund committee, the attorney or attorneys appointed by the court pursuant to Section 2-64, and to all complainants whose complaints against the attorney resulted in the discipline for which the attorney was disbarred or suspended or resigned. The standing committee shall also publish all hearing notices on the Judicial Branch website, in the Connecticut Law Journal and in a newspaper with substantial distribution in the county where the application was filed.

(j) The standing committee shall take all testimony at its hearings under oath and shall include in its report subordinate findings of facts and conclusions as well as its recommendation. The standing committee shall have a record made of its proceedings which shall include a copy of the application for reinstatement, any reports filed by the Statewide Grievance Committee and Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, a copy of the record of the applicant's disciplinary history, a transcript of its hearings thereon, any exhibits received by the standing committee, any other documents considered by the standing committee in making its recommendations, and copies of all notices provided by the standing committee in accordance with this section. Record materials containing personal identifying information or medical information may, in the discretion of the standing committee, be redacted, or open for inspection only to the applicant and other persons having a proper interest therein and upon order of the court. The standing committee shall complete work on the application within 180 days of referral from the chief justice. It is the applicant's burden to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he or she possesses good moral character and fitness to practice law as defined by Section 2-5A.

(k) Upon completion of its investigation, the standing committee shall file its recommendation in writing together with a copy of the record with the clerk of the Superior Court. The report shall recommend that the application be granted, granted with conditions, or denied. The standing committee's report shall be served and certified to all other parties pursuant to Section 10-12. ( l ) The court shall thereupon inform the chief justice of the pending application and recommendation, and the chief justice shall designate two other judges of the Superior Court to sit with the judge presiding at the session. The applicant, the Statewide Grievance Committee, the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel and the standing committee shall have an opportunity to appear and be heard at any hearing. The three judge panel, or a majority of them, shall determine whether the application should be granted.

(m) If the application for reinstatement is denied, the reasons therefor shall be stated on the record or put in writing. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the attorney may not reapply for reinstatement for a period of at least one year following the denial.

Committee Notes

(P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 36.) (Amended Nov. 17, 1999, on an interim basis, to take effect Jan. 1, 2000, and amendment adopted June 26, 2000, to take effect Jan. 1, 2001; amended June 24, 2002, to take effect July 1, 2003; May 14, 2003, effective date changed to Oct. 1, 2003; Sept. 30, 2003, effec-