Section 2-75.—Processing Claims

Once a claim comes in, the client security fund committee must investigate and notify the attorney who is the subject of the claim, by certified mail, within ten days of the filing. The attorney then has twenty days from the date the notice was mailed to respond. Before going further, the committee may require the claimant to pursue any other remedies available. The committee also notifies the Statewide Grievance Committee of each claim and asks for any investigative report the grievance committee has, and the grievance committee must give the fund committee access to its records during that investigation. The fund committee decides whether the investigation is complete or whether it should wait for a related disciplinary matter to play out.

The committee can request information from state’s attorneys and the Superior Court to help investigate and process a claim. A certified copy of a disciplinary order or a final court judgment covering the same dishonest conduct counts as evidence that the attorney committed it. The committee may also require testimony from the claimant, the attorney, or anyone else, and can assign members to take that testimony and report back.

Ultimately, the committee decides the validity of a claim based on the record, in its sole and absolute discretion, and a determination needs an affirmative vote of at least seven members. It then decides, again in its sole discretion, the amount, order, and manner of payment based on approved claims, pending claims, and what’s available in the fund. Reimbursements never include interest, expenses, or attorney’s fees for processing the claim, and may be paid as a lump sum or in installments. The committee notifies the claimant and the attorney of its decision, which is final and can’t be reviewed by any court. And whether a claim is approved or denied has no bearing on any disciplinary proceeding.