Section 6-B849. ATTORNEY CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING FILING REQUIREMENT

 

849.1The provisions of this section shall be applicable to each attorney appointed in the Career Service at the level of DS-13 or equivalent and above who is required to be a member of the D.C. Bar as a prerequisite of employment, and who is employed by:

 

(a)Any agency, subordinate or independent, and whose duties, in whole or substantial part, consist of hearing cases as an administrative law judge or as an administrative hearing officer;

 

(b)The Office of the Chief Financial Officer; and

 

(c)Any independent agency excluded from the Legal Service, including the Housing Finance Agency, Pretrial Services Agency, Water and Sewer Authority, and Housing Authority.

 

849.2Not later than December 15 of each year, or as specified in sections 849.18 and 849.19 of this section, each attorney as described in section 849.1 of this section shall file with the D.C. Department of Human Resources (DCHR) a certificate of good standing from the Committee on Admissions, D.C. Court of Appeals.

 

849.3Except as specified in §§ 849.18 and 849.19, the certificate of good standing submitted every year pursuant to this section shall be dated not earlier than October 1 and not later than December 15 of the year of submission.

 

849.4Each subordinate agency or independent personnel authority that employs Career Service attorneys subject to the filing requirement shall be responsible for:

 

(a)Notifying each agency attorney of the filing requirement every year; and

 

(b)Submitting a list of agency attorneys subject to the filing requirement to the Director of the DCHR every year, not later than the December 15 deadline.

 

849.5Notwithstanding the procedures in section 849.2 of this section, each subordinate agency or independent personnel authority may elect to submit every year to the Committee on Admissions, D.C. Court of Appeals, a consolidated listing requesting certificates of good standing (certificates) for each agency attorney subject to the filing requirement, and file the original individual certificates with the DCHR on behalf of each attorney. 

 

849.6A subordinate agency or independent personnel authority that elects to submit a consolidated listing as specified in § 849.5 shall establish internal procedures for the compilation of the consolidated listing and every year inform each attorney subject to the filing requirement of the internal procedures. Any consolidated listing submitted to the Committee on Admissions, D.C. Court of Appeals (Court) shall include, at a minimum, the following:

 

(a)The attorney’s name and bar number and, if necessary, some other identifier such as the attorney’s date of admission to the D.C. Bar;

 

(b)A request that an individual certificate of good standing be prepared for each attorney in good standing from the names submitted in the consolidated listing; and

 

(c)A request that the Court specify which attorneys, from the names submitted in the consolidated listing, are not in good standing.

 

849.7Any consolidated listing prepared pursuant to § 849.5 shall be submitted to the Committee on Admissions, D.C. Court of Appeals, as soon after October 1 of each year as practicable, but not later than November 15 of each year.

 

849.8Nothing in this section shall prevent an attorney subject to the filing requirement from individually applying for the certificate of good standing (certificate) from the Committee on Admissions, D.C. Court of Appeals, and filing the certificate directly with the DCHR by December 15 of each year.   

 

849.9Each subordinate agency head or independent personnel authority that elects to submit a consolidated listing to the Committee on Admissions, D.C. Court of Appeals (Court) pursuant to section 849.5 of this section shall provide every year to the Director of the DCHR:

 

(a)Each original individual certificate of good standing received;

 

(b)The name of each attorney who is not in good standing and any documentation from the Court to that effect; and

 

(c)A copy of the consolidated listing submitted to the Court.

 

849.10Upon receipt of the original individual certificate of good standing (certificate) from each attorney, or subordinate agency or independent personnel authority on his or her behalf, the Director of the DCHR (or designee) shall:

 

(a)File the original individual certificates in a place designated for that purpose; and

 

(b)In the case of an attorney who is not in compliance with the filing requirement, forward the name to the appropriate agency head.

 

849.11Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, the Director of the DCHR may establish internal procedures to identify every year each attorney as described in section 849.1 of this section who is subject to the filing requirement and subsequently identify any attorney who did not comply with the filing requirement.  

 

849.12Failure of any attorney as described in section 849.1 of this section, either individually, or through his or her employing subordinate agency or independent personnel authority, to file the certificate of good standing with the DCHR by December 15 of each year, or as specified in section 849.18 or 849.19 of this section, shall result in forfeiture of employment.

 

849.13Upon written request from an attorney subject to the filing requirement, the Director of the DCHR or independent personnel authority may grant a temporary waiver of the filing requirement to the attorney if compliance with the filing requirement by December 15 is inordinately difficult due to circumstances beyond his or her control or other good cause. 

 

849.14Any request for a temporary waiver of the filing requirement shall be submitted by the attorney to the Director of the DCHR or independent personnel authority not later than December 1.

 

849.15The Director of the DCHR or independent personnel authority shall grant a temporary waiver of the filing requirement to an attorney who has exercised due diligence in applying to be waived in to the D.C. Bar from another jurisdiction but does not anticipate being waived in by December 15.

 

849.16A request for temporary waiver of the filing requirement shall include all of the following:

 

(a)The reason or reasons for the request;

 

(b)The date of appointment to the attorney position subject to the filing requirement;

 

(c)In the case of an attorney as described in § 849.15, the date he or she submitted application to be waived in to the D.C. Bar; and

 

(d)Any appropriate or required supporting material or documentation to substantiate the request.

 

849.17The Director of the DCHR or independent personnel authority shall promptly determine whether to grant the request for a temporary waiver of the filing requirement and notify the attorney in writing.  A notification granting the request shall inform the attorney of the deadline to file prescribed in section 849.18 of this section.  A notification denying the request shall inform the attorney of the following:

 

(a)The reason or reasons for the denial of the request;

 

(b)That he or she has thirty (30) days from the receipt of the notification denying the request to  attempt to file the certificate of good standing (certificate) with the DCHR;

 

(c)That he or she shall be terminated at the end of the prescribed thirty-day (30-day) period if unable to file the certificate with the DCHR within the prescribed period; and

 

(d)The effective date of termination in the event that he or she is unable to file the certificate with the DCHR within the prescribed period.

 

849.18An attorney granted a temporary waiver of the filing requirement (waiver) shall file a certificate of good standing (certificate) with the Director of the DCHR within thirty (30) days of being admitted to the D.C. Bar.  A certificate filed pursuant to this subsection shall not be dated earlier than the date of the written request for the waiver submitted by the employee.

 

849.19When a personnel action placing an employee in an attorney position subject to the filing requirement, such as in the case of a promotion to a grade DS-13 or equivalent, becomes effective on or after the December 15 deadline, the attorney shall file a certificate of good standing (certificate) with the DCHR within thirty (30) days of the effective date of such personnel action.  A certificate filed pursuant to this subsection shall not be dated earlier than the effective date of the personnel action that placed the employee in the attorney position subject to the filing requirement.

 

849.20Upon establishing the effective date of a personnel action as described in section 849.19 of this section and processing the action, the Director of the DCHR or independent personnel authority shall promptly inform the affected employee, in writing, of the deadline to file prescribed in section 849.19 of this section.

 

849.21Each subordinate agency or independent personnel authority shall provide a written notice of the intent to terminate employment to any covered attorney who is not in compliance with the filing requirement.  The notice shall inform the attorney:

 

(a)That he or she has thirty (30) days from the receipt of the notice to attempt to file the certificate of good standing (certificate) with the DCHR;

 

(b)That he or she shall be terminated at the end of the prescribed thirty-day (30-day) period if unable to file the certificate with the DCHR within the prescribed period; and

 

(c)The effective date of termination in the event that he or she is unable to file the certificate with the DCHR within the prescribed period.

 

849.22Each appointee to an attorney position subject to the filing requirement (requirement) shall be notified by the appropriate personnel authority at the time of hire, in writing, of the requirement and that failure to comply by December 15 of each year or as specified in §§ 849.18 and 849.19, as applicable, shall result in forfeiture of employment.

 

849.23Not later than March 1 of each year after the December 15 filing deadline for the preceding year, the Director of the DCHR shall publish in the D.C. Register the list of attorneys who have not met the filing requirement.

 

authority

The Director, D.C. Department of Human Resources, and the Chief, Metropolitan Police Department, with the concurrence of the City Administrator, pursuant to Mayor’s Order 2008-92, dated June 26, 2008; in accordance with the provisions of section 801 (a) of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-139; D.C. Official Code § 1-608.01 (a)) (2008 Supp.).

source

Final Rulemaking at 51 DCR 10410 (November 12, 2004).Final Rulemaking at 51 DCR 10410 (November 12, 2004); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 56 DCR 2571 (April 3, 2009).