In July, the Disciplinary Board released a new “Conservatorships” webpage. Within Pennsylvania’s legal profession, conservators are “attorneys appointed by a court to protect the interests of the clients of an absent attorney”. In such situations, the term “absent attorney” extends to “an attorney who abandons his or her practice, disappears, dies, or is transferred to inactive status because of incapacity or disability; and no partner or other responsible successor to the practice of the attorney is known to exist”. This webpage makes available important conservatorship information to all affected clients and other interested parties.
The webpage details both open and discharged conservatorships. Each entry includes the name, attorney ID number, county, and public address of the relevant attorney as well as the date of the appointment order and the name and phone number of the designated conservator. Entries on both tabs can be sorted by last name, county, or date of the conservatorship appointment or discharge.
Conservatorship announcements remain on the “Open” tab until a Court Order discharges the conservator. Upon discharge, information on the absent attorney will be transferred to the “Discharged” tab. Conservatorship information will be available on the website for five years following the date of the Order of Appointment.
In relation to Pennsylvania attorney conservatorships, several new questions and accompanying answers have been added to the Board’s list of “FAQs & Resources for the Public”, including:
- Who is an absent attorney?
- When and how is a conservator of an absent attorney appointed?
- How long does a conservatorship of an absent attorney last?
- What does a conservator of an absent attorney do?
- How is a conservator of an absent attorney discharged?
- I believe the absent attorney was in possession of my legal file or funds that belong to me. Who do I contact for more information?
For additional ease to access, a note linking to the “Conservatorship” page has been added to the public directory listing of each absent attorney. Akin to the Board’s notices of discipline and reinstatement from discipline, notice of conservatorship will be published as a website and social media article following all new appointment orders. A link to these articles also will appear under an entry’s county detail on both tabs.
To access the Board’s “Conservatorships” page, visit padisciplinaryboard.org/cases/conservatorships.