R. 1:20-21. — Reinstatement After Final Discipline

a. Definite Suspension of More Than Six Months and Indefinite Suspensions. After the expiration of a definite suspension of more than six months or at any time after an indefinite suspension has been ordered, an attorney may file a verified petition for reinstatement with the Attorney Regulatory Board pursuant to this rule.

b. Definite Suspension of Six Months or Less. A lawyer who has been suspended for a definite period of six months or less may file a petition for reinstatement and publish notice of reinstatement forty days prior to the expiration of the period of suspension. All other procedures specified by this rule shall apply, except that the petition need not contain responses to paragraphs (f)(6), and (f)

(8) to (f)(10), inclusive.

c. Filing and Service of Petition. The petitioner shall file an original and 12 copies of the redacted and unredacted verified petition with the Attorney Regulatory Board and shall serve two copies on (i) the Director of the Office of Attorney Ethics, and (ii) the Director of the New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. d. Costs. Petitions for reinstatement shall be accompanied by a non-refundable check payable to the Disciplinary Oversight Committee in the amount of $1,000 to cover the reasonable administrative costs of processing the petition. Either the Attorney Regulatory Board or the Court may also direct the petitioner to pay such additional costs during the processing of a petition as required to satisfy actual out-of-pocket expenses, including transcripts and expenses deemed necessary to a proper evaluation of the reinstatement petition. The procedure for the assessment, collection, and enforcement of costs shall be governed by R. 1:20-17.

e. Publication of Notice. Contemporaneously with the filing of the petition for reinstatement, or within twenty-one days prior thereto, the petitioner shall publish a notice of application for reinstatement in bold-faced type in all official newspapers designated by the Supreme Court and in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the respondent last maintained a law office and in the county in which respondent resided at the time of the imposition of discipline. Publication of a notice shall be sufficient if in the following language: NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC. John Doe, who was admitted to the bar of the State of New Jersey on __________, 20__ and who was thereafter suspended from the practice of law by the Supreme Court, is applying to be reinstated to the practice. Objections or relevant information concerning this application for reinstatement should be forwarded immediately to Chief Counsel, Disciplinary Review Board, P.O. Box 962, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0962.

f. Contents of Petition; Compliance with R. 1:38. The petitioner shall provide the Attorney Regulatory Board a verified petition for reinstatement in the form promulgated by the Office of Board Counsel setting forth all material facts on which the petitioner relies to establish fitness to resume the practice of law. As set forth above, the petitioner shall provide to the required agencies (i) copies of the petition and all supporting documents redacted in accordance with R. 1:38, and (ii) copies of the petition and all supporting documents in unredacted form. The petition shall, in the discretion of the Attorney Regulatory Board, considering the nature of the disciplinary offense contain the following information in correlatively numbered paragraphs:

1. the name of the petitioner and a copy of a current photograph of petitioner, not smaller than three inches by three inches showing front and side views; 2. the effective date of the suspension and the citation of the Supreme Court’s Order and reported opinion, if any;

3. the age, current residence address and telephone number of the petitioner, as well as the address of all residences maintained during the suspension period and the date of each residence; 4. the nature of petitioner’s occupation during the suspension, including the name and address of each employer, the dates of each employment, the positions occupied and titles held, the name, address, and telephone of the immediate supervisor, and the reason for leaving the employment; 5. the case caption, general nature, dates, and disposition of every civil, criminal, municipal, administrative, bankruptcy, or disciplinary action which was pending during the period of suspension to which petitioner was either a party or claimed an interest;

6. petitioner’s written consent or provision of a waiver to the Attorney Regulatory Board and to the Director of the Office of Attorney Ethics to examine and secure copies of any records relating to any criminal investigation of or action against petitioner (all levels of offenses);

7. a statement of the earnings and other income of the petitioner and the sources from which all earnings and income were derived during the period of suspension;

8. a statement of financial obligations, loans, and debts of the petitioner as of the date of the suspension and at the time of the reinstatement application, including the dates when such obligations were acquired or incurred, the balances owed, and the names and addresses of all creditors. In its discretion, the Attorney Regulatory Board may request a statement of assets and accounts on a case-by-case basis to obtain a complete picture of petitioner’s finances, if a petitioner is seeking a payment schedule based on financial hardship;

9. the names and addresses of all financial institutions at which petitioner had, or was signatory to, accounts, safety deposit boxes, or deposits during the period of suspension, the number of each account, box, or deposit; the date each account, box, or deposit was opened, approved or made; and the date each account, box, or deposit was closed or paid;

10. copies of petitioner’s federal and state income tax returns and any business tax returns for each of the three years immediately preceding the date the petition is filed and for each year, or part of a year, during the period of suspension and, in an appropriate form, petitioner’s written consent to the Attorney Regulatory Board and the Director to secure copies of the original returns;

11. a statement of restitution made for all obligations to all former clients and the New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, and the source and amount of funds used for this purpose; 12. whether the petitioner, during the period of suspension, sought or obtained assistance, consultation or treatment, whether as an in- or out- patient, for a mental or emotional disorder or for addiction to drugs or alcohol, if such services relate to the disciplinary offenses or the Attorney Regulatory Board determines that such information is relevant to the petitioner’s present ability to practice law. The name, address and telephone of each provider of these services, the services rendered, their duration and purpose and a copy of all medical records shall be provided to the Attorney Regulatory Board; 13. whether the petitioner, during the period of suspension, applied for admission, readmission, or reinstatement to practice as an attorney in this state or any other state or jurisdiction, the caption and details of the application and its disposition, if any; 14. whether the petitioner has ever applied for or been granted a license or certificate relating to any business or occupation and whether that license or certificate has ever been the subject of any disciplinary action and the details thereof; 15. a statement as to whether any applications were made during the period of suspension for a license requiring proof of good character, the dates, name, address, and telephone of the authority to whom such applications were addressed, and the disposition thereof; 16. whether petitioner, during the period of suspension, engaged in the practice of law in any jurisdiction and all material facts relating thereto;

17. a statement of any procedure or inquiry during the period of suspension, relating to petitioner’s standing as a member of any other profession or organization, or holder of any license or office, which involved the censure, removal, suspension, revocation of license, or discipline of petitioner, and, as to each, the dates, facts, and the disposition thereof and the name, address, and telephone number of the authority in possession of the record thereof;

18. a statement of petitioner’s professional intentions if reinstated to practice law; 19. a newly completed Annual Attorney Registration Statement; 20. a copy of the detailed affidavit required to be filed in accordance with Rule 1:20-20; and

21. such other information as the Director of the Office of Attorney Ethics, the Attorney Regulatory Board, or the Supreme Court may require.

g. Objections by Director; Recommendation by the Board. Within 21 days following receipt of the petition or 14 days if the period of suspension was six months or less, the Director of the Office of Attorney Ethics shall file an original and 12 copies of a response with the Attorney Regulatory Board either objecting or not objecting to the petition. The Director shall serve the petitioner with a copy of the response. If the Director consents or fails to file objections after having received notice, the Attorney Regulatory Board may submit its findings and recommendations to the Supreme Court. If the Director files objections, the Attorney Regulatory Board may set the matter down for oral argument on notice to the parties or may, after considering the objections, submit its findings and recommendations as to the attorney’s fitness to practice law to the Supreme Court without argument. The Attorney Regulatory Board may recommend, and the Court may impose, any conditions on the attorney’s reinstatement deemed necessary to protect the petitioner, clients, or the public.

h. Referral to Trier of Fact. In an appropriate case, the Attorney Regulatory Board may refer specific issues regarding reinstatement to a trier of fact, which shall then hold a hearing and furnish the Attorney Regulatory Board with a report of findings and recommendations.

i. Consideration of Petition for Reinstatement. No petition for reinstatement shall be considered by the Attorney Regulatory Board unless: A. the petitioner first affirmatively demonstrates full and timely compliance with Rule 1:20-20. If compliance has not occurred, and if the required affidavit of compliance has not been timely filed, the Attorney Regulatory Board shall not consider the petition until the expiration of up to six months from the date of filing of that proof of compliance. B. all disciplinary costs assessed have been paid, unless an extraordinary financial hardship claim has been timely requested and granted and unless petitioner is current in the schedule of payments thereunder; C. all orders for restitution have been paid; D. the petitioner has reimbursed or has reached agreement in writing with the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection to reimburse it in full for all sums paid or authorized to be paid as a result of the respondent’s conduct; E. all annual registration fees and any late charges or other applicable assessments have been paid.

j. Successive Petitions. Except as otherwise ordered by the Supreme Court, a petitioner may not file a subsequent petition for reinstatement until six months after the Supreme Court has adversely decided the prior petition. k. Public Proceedings and Records. All reinstatement records and proceedings shall be considered public in accordance with Rule 1:20-9. The burden of redacting any confidential material or information contained within the supporting documents that would otherwise be protected by Rule 1:38 or other authority is on the petitioner.

l. Standard of Proof. The standard of proof in reinstatement proceedings shall be by clear and convincing evidence.

m. Burden of Proof; Burden of Going Forward. The burden of proof in proceedings seeking reinstatement shall be on the petitioner.