IV. General Provisions
Effective July 1, 2023
Section 21. Costs and Expenses
(a) Imposition of costs and expenses in disciplinary proceedings.
If the Supreme Court imposes discipline or other sanction, including a sanction for contempt, the Supreme Court may issue an order that the respondent pay the costs and expenses of the proceeding. The Executive Director shall prepare an itemized statement of expenses allocable to each case, including: (1) expenses incurred by the Disciplinary Commission in the course of the investigatory, hearing, or review procedures under this Rule; (2) costs attributable to the services of the hearing officer: and (3) a fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) payable to the Supreme Court Clerk, as reimbursement for the processing of all papers in connection with the proceeding. Proceedings for the collection of the costs taxed against the respondent may be initiated by the Executive Director on the Supreme Court’s order approving expenses and costs.
(b) Costs of hearing in reinstatement proceedings.
Any attorney filing a petition for reinstatement under Section 18, or seeking reinstatement to practice under any other provision of this Rule, shall be responsible for the payment of all costs incurred by the Disciplinary Commission in conducting a hearing that exceed the amount of any filing fee paid by the attorney seeking reinstatement. The Disciplinary Commission shall send a statement of costs to the attorney, and the attorney shall pay the costs within ten (10) days of the receipt of the statement. In no event shall there be any refund or rebate of any part of any filing fee paid by the person seeking reinstatement.
(c) Costs for Disciplinary Commission services in providing copies of documents.
(1) Documents.
The Disciplinary Commission may charge a person requesting copies of documents the same costs that the Supreme Court has authorized the Supreme Court Clerk to charge for copies of documents.
(2) Delivery costs.
In addition, the Disciplinary Commission may charge the costs of postage or other delivery services in responding to requests for copies of documents.
(3) Right to withhold until payment is made.
The Disciplinary Commission may withhold the documents requested until the costs for its service are paid.
(4) Inapplicable to discovery requests.
This subsection shall not apply to the Commission’s responses to discovery requests in the course of litigation.
(d) Failure to pay costs and expenses.
An attorney who fails to pay costs and expenses assessed pursuant to this Section or any other provision of this Rule (except subsection (c) above) by the due date of the annual registration fee required by Admission and Discipline Rule 2(b) may be subject to an order of suspension from the practice of law pursuant to Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 2(h), and shall be reinstated only upon paying the outstanding costs and expenses and filing with the Supreme Court Clerk a written application for reinstatement and payment of an administrative reinstatement fee of two hundred dollars ($200). The requirements of Section 18(b) shall not apply to these proceedings.
Section 22. Public Access
(a) Documents and information about disciplinary matters.
(1) After a Disciplinary Complaint has been filed with the Supreme Court, all papers filed with the Supreme Court Clerk pertaining to that particular Disciplinary Complaint shall be open and available to the public, except as provided by the Rules on Access to Court Records.
(2) After a Disciplinary Complaint has been filed with the Supreme Court, all proceedings shall be open to the public, except adjudicative deliberations or as provided in Section 22(b).
(3) Proceedings and papers that relate to matters that have not resulted in the filing of a Disciplinary Complaint shall be confidential and not available to the public.
(4) Communications among members and staff of the Disciplinary Commission regarding disciplinary matters, minutes and notes regarding Disciplinary Commission meetings and deliberations, and investigative reports and other work product of the Executive Director or his or her agents shall be confidential and not available to the public.
(5) Conditional Agreements, advisory letters and any responses from respondents, private administrative admonition letters, resignation affidavits, and affidavits consenting to disbarment shall be confidential and not open to public inspection.
(b) Hearings.
Hearings before hearing officers shall be open to the public. However, hearing officers may order a hearing or portions of a hearing to be closed or order evidentiary exhibits to be held under seal if necessary for any of the following purposes:
(1) For the protection of witnesses.
(2) To prevent likely disruption of the proceedings.
(3) For the security of the hearing officer or any of the participants at the proceedings.
(4) To prevent the unauthorized disclosure of attorney-client confidences not at issue in the proceeding.
(5) To protect medical information.
(6) For any other good cause shown which in the judgment of the hearing officer requires the hearing to be closed.
Section 23. Filing, Service, Submission, Format of Documents; Motion Practice
(a) Filing; general provisions.
(1) Pleadings, motions, and other documents shall have a caption showing the Indiana Supreme Court as the court in which they are filed and shall be filed with the Supreme Court Clerk (not with the clerk of a trial court, even if the judge of that court is serving as hearing officer in the disciplinary proceeding).
(2) No deposition, request for discovery, or discovery response shall be filed with the Supreme Court Clerk unless permitted under circumstances set forth in Trial Rule 5(E)(2).
(3) Original depositions shall be maintained according to the procedures of Trial Rule 5(E)(3).
(4) The filing of any deposition shall constitute publication.
(b) Filing defined.
All papers shall be deemed filed when they are:
(1) Personally delivered to the Supreme Court Clerk;
(2) Deposited in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, properly addressed to the Supreme Court Clerk;
(3) Deposited with any third-party commercial carrier for delivery to the Supreme Court Clerk within three (3) calendar days, cost prepaid, and properly addressed; or
(4) Electronically filed as authorized or required by the Supreme Court.
(c) Filing; required documents.
Only the original of a document shall be filed with or tendered to the Supreme Court Clerk. No paper original shall be required for any documents electronically filed with or tendered to the Supreme Court Clerk.
(d) Time for service.
A filer shall serve a document no later than the date it is tendered for filing.
(e) Required service.
All documents tendered to the Supreme Court Clerk for filing must be served upon all participants or their counsel and the hearing officer, after one has been appointed.
(f) Manner and date of service.
Unless otherwise provided in this Rule, all documents shall be deemed served when they are:
(1) Personally delivered;
(2) Deposited in the United States Mail, postage prepaid, properly addressed;
(3) Deposited with any third-party commercial carrier for delivery within three (3) calendar days, cost prepaid, and properly addressed; or
(4) Electronically served as authorized or required by the Supreme Court.
(g) Certificate of service.
Anyone tendering a document to the Supreme Court Clerk for filing in a disciplinary proceeding shall certify that service has been made, list the persons served, and specify the date and means of service. The certificate of service shall be placed at the end of the document and shall not be separately filed. The separate filing of a certificate of service, however, shall not be grounds for rejecting a document for filing. The Supreme Court Clerk may permit documents to be filed without a certificate of service but shall require prompt filing of a separate certificate of service.
(h) Documents submitted to the Supreme Court.
Documents directed to be submitted to the Supreme Court shall be delivered to the Supreme Court agency or office designated by the Supreme Court to accept the submissions. Submission may be made electronically if authorized or required by the Supreme Court. The date of submission shall be the date received by the Supreme Court agency or office. Unless submitted electronically, one paper original shall be submitted. Documents submitted to the Supreme Court shall not be filed with the Supreme Court Clerk.
(i) Inclusion of contact information.
A person filing or submitting a pleading, motion, or document shall include at any place under the signature line the person’s address, telephone number, FAX number, and email address.
(j) Format.
Motions, petitions for review, and briefs shall conform to the following requirements:
(1) The pages shall be 8 1/2 by 11 inch white paper of a weight normally used in printing and typing.
(2) The document shall be produced in a neat and legible manner using black print. It may be typewritten, printed or produced by a word processing system. It may be copied by any copying process that produces a distinct black image on white paper. Text shall appear on only one side of the paper.
(3) The font shall be Arial, Baskerville, Book Antiqua, Bookman, Bookman Old Style, Century, Century Schoolbook, Courier, Courier New, CG Times, Garamond, Georgia, New Baskerville, New Century Schoolbook, Palatino or Times New Roman and the typeface shall be 12-point or larger in body text.
(4) All text shall be double-spaced except that footnotes, tables, charts, or similar material and text that is blocked and indented shall be single-spaced.
(5) The pages shall be numbered at the bottom.
(6) All four margins for the text of the document shall be at least one (1) inch from the edge of the page.
(k) Electronic copy.
Petitions and briefs may be accompanied by a copy of the document in electronic format, unless the document is filed in electronic form. Any electronic format used by the word processing system to generate the document is permissible.
(l) Motion practice.
Unless provided otherwise by these Rules or by order of the Supreme Court, a request for an order or for other relief shall be made by filing a written motion. A motion for relief from a prior order shall be filed no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the order, absent good cause shown for seeking relief at a later date. Any response to a motion must be filed within fifteen (15) days after the motion is served. The Supreme Court or hearing officer has the discretion to rule on a motion without waiting for a response. The movant may not file a reply to a response without leave of the Supreme Court or hearing officer. Any reply must be tendered within five (5) days of service of the response and accompanied by the filing of a motion for leave to file the reply.
Section 23.1. Obligations of Attorneys Regarding Service; Constructive Service
(a) Obligation to accept service.
It shall be the duty of every attorney against whom a grievance is submitted to accept service, and when notice is given by registered or certified mail, to claim the notice in a timely manner either personally or through an authorized agent.
(b) Obligation to notify Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education of change of contact information.
A failure to notify the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education of a change in contact information shall be deemed a waiver of notice involving disciplinary matters.
(c) Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education as agent to receive constructive service.
Each attorney admitted to practice law in this State or practicing law in this State shall be deemed to have appointed the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education as his or her agent to receive constructive service of all papers, including processes and notices, called for by any provision of this Rule when actual service on the attorney at the attorney’s addresses shown on the records of the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education cannot be accomplished, or when the attorney has not provided the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education with an address. These papers may be served by filing them with the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education as the agent for the attorney, together with an affidavit setting forth the facts necessitating this method of service. Upon receipt of the papers and the affidavit, the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education shall immediately mail notification to the attorney at the attorney's office address, or if unavailable the attorney’s residence address, as shown in the records of the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education, informing the attorney that the papers have been filed with the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education as agent for the attorney. Alternatively, the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education may accomplish this notification by emailing copies of or hyperlinks to the documents to the attorney at his or her email address, as shown upon the records of the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education. The Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education shall then file with the Supreme Court Clerk a written certification showing the mailing or emailing of the notification to the attorney. If the attorney has provided no contact information to the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education, the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education may, but need not, attempt to accomplish notification through other means. Upon the completion of this procedure, the attorney shall be deemed to have been served with the papers.
Section 23.2. Computation of Time
(a) Non-business and business days.
For purposes of this Rule, a non-business day shall mean a Saturday, a Sunday, a legal holiday as defined by State statute, or a day the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education is closed during regular business hours. A business day shall mean all other days.
(b) Counting days.
In computing any period of time allowed by this Rule, by order of the Supreme Court, or by any applicable statute, the day of the act, event, or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed is to be included unless it is a non-business day. If the last day is a non-business day, the period runs until the end of the next business day. When the time allowed is less than seven (7) days, all non-business days shall be excluded from the computation.
(c) Extension of time when served by mail or carrier.
When the Disciplinary Commission or the respondent serves a document by mail or third-party commercial carrier, the time period for filing any response or reply to the document shall be extended automatically for an additional three (3) days from the date of deposit in the mail or with the carrier. This extension of time does not extend any time period that is not triggered by service of a document, such as the time for filing a petition for review.
Section 24. Assistance of Law Enforcement Agencies and to Attorney Disciplinary Agencies in Other Jurisdictions
(a) Assistance from law enforcement.
The Disciplinary Commission, or the Executive Director, may request any law enforcement agency or office to assist in an investigation. This assistance shall include the furnishing of all available information about the respondent.
(b) Assistance to other jurisdictions.
The Supreme Court may order a person domiciled or found within this State to give testimony or a statement or to produce documents or other things for use in an attorney discipline or disability proceeding in another jurisdiction. The order may be made upon the application of any interested person or in response to a letter rogatory, and may prescribe the practice and procedure, which may be wholly or in part the practice and procedure of a tribunal outside this State, for the taking of the testimony or statement or producing the documents or other things. To the extent that the order does not prescribe otherwise, the practice and procedure shall be in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure. The order may direct that the testimony or statement be given, or document or other thing be produced, before a person appointed by the Supreme Court. A person may be required to give testimony or a statement only in the county in which he or she resides or is employed or transacts business in person, or at another convenient place fixed in the order. The person appointed shall have the power to administer any necessary oath. Any order to testify or to produce documents or other things issued as prescribed in this subsection may be enforced in the circuit court of the county in which the person commanded to appear is domiciled, upon petition of any person interested in the attorney discipline or disability proceeding.
Section 25. Immunity
(a) Statements to the Disciplinary Commission or Lawyers Assistance Program.
Each person shall be absolutely immune from civil suit for all of his or her oral or written statements intended for transmittal either: (1) to the Disciplinary Commission, the Executive Director, or the Disciplinary Commission staff, or made in the course of investigatory, hearing, or review proceedings under this Rule; or (2) to a Lawyers Assistance Program approved by the Supreme Court. Oral or written statements made to others which are not intended for such transmittal have no immunity under this Section.
(b) Suit arising from performance of duties.
The Executive Director, his or her staff, counsel, investigators, hearing officers, and the members of the Disciplinary Commission shall be immune from suit for any conduct arising out of the performance of their duties.
Section 26. Duties of Suspended Attorneys, Disbarred Attorneys, and Attorneys whose Resignation has been Accepted
(a) Applicability.
This Section shall apply to all attorneys who have been disbarred, or whose law license has been suspended under this Rule or any other provision of the Indiana Admission and Discipline Rules, including suspensions for registration fee nonpayment, continuing legal education noncompliance, and nonpayment of costs (“license maintenance suspension”). Disbarment shall include disbarment by consent, and suspension shall include resignation.
(b) Duties of all suspended and disbarred attorneys.
(1) Upon receiving notice of the order of suspension or disbarment, including disbarment by consent, the respondent shall not undertake any new legal matters between receipt of the order and the effective date of the suspension or disbarment. Upon the effective date, the respondent shall not practice law, represent clients, or maintain a presence or occupy an office where the practice of law is conducted.
(2) Upon receiving notice of the order of suspension or disbarment, the attorney shall file a notice of his or her suspension or disbarment in every pending matter in which the attorney has filed an appearance. The attorney shall attach a copy of the suspension or disbarment order to the notice.
(c) Additional duties of attorneys who have been disbarred, suspended without automatic reinstatement, or suspended for more than 180 days.
(1) This subsection shall apply to attorneys who have been disbarred, suspended without automatic reinstatement for any length of time (including those under resignation), and attorneys whose active suspension exceeds 180 days (including license maintenance suspensions).
(2) The attorney shall promptly notify or cause to be notified by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, all clients being represented by him or her in pending matters, of the disbarment or suspension and the attorney's inability to act as an attorney. This notice shall advise the clients to seek legal advice of the client's own choice elsewhere.
(3) In addition to notifying clients as set forth above, the attorney shall move to withdraw as counsel in the court or agency in which any proceeding is pending, shall notify all attorneys for adverse parties in these proceedings, and shall furnish the address of the client involved to the court or agency and to the attorneys for adverse parties.
(4) The attorney shall make available to any of his or her clients, to new counsel for any of the clients or to any other person designated by the court having appropriate jurisdiction, all papers, documents, files or information which may be in his or her possession.
(5) The attorney shall take any action as is necessary to cause the removal of any indicia of attorney, lawyer, counselor at law, legal assistant, law clerk, or similar title, displayed or communicated in any form or medium, including the internet.
(6) The attorney shall close any IOLTA account or other attorney trust account the attorney may have and disburse any funds in the account(s) to their rightful owner(s).
(7) Within thirty (30) days after the effective date of the disbarment or suspension order (or within 10 days of the date active suspension exceeds 180 days in the case of license maintenance suspensions), the attorney shall file with the Supreme Court a notification affidavit showing that he or she has fully complied with the provisions of the order and with this Rule. The notification affidavit shall disclose all other State, Federal and Administrative jurisdictions to which the attorney has been admitted to practice. If the attorney is representing no clients at the time the order is entered, the affidavit shall so state. The attorney shall also serve a copy of the affidavit upon the Executive Director and shall set forth the address where communications may be directed to him or her.
(d) Additional duties of suspended attorneys not subject to subsection (c).
A suspended attorney not subject to subsection (c) shall, within thirty (30) days from the date of the notice of the suspension, file with the Supreme Court a notification affidavit showing that:
(1) All clients being represented by the attorney in pending matters have been notified by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the nature and duration of the suspension, and all pending matters of clients requiring the attorney's services during the period of suspension have been placed in the hands and care of an attorney admitted to practice in this State with the consent of the client.
(2) Clients not consenting to be represented by substitute counsel have been advised to seek the services of counsel of their own choice.
(3) If the suspended attorney is representing no clients at the time the order of suspension is entered, the affidavit shall so state.
Section 27. Attorney Surrogates
(a) Definitions for purposes of this Section only.
(1) “Attorney Surrogate” means a senior judge certified by the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission or another member of the bar of this State, in good standing, who has been appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction to act as an Attorney Surrogate for a Lawyer.
(2) “Court of competent jurisdiction” means a court of general jurisdiction in the county in which a Lawyer maintains or has maintained a principal office.
(3) “Disabled” means that a Lawyer has a physical or mental condition resulting from accident, injury, disease, chemical dependency, mental health problems, or age that significantly impairs the Lawyer's ability to practice law.
(4) “Fiduciary Entity” means a partnership, limited liability company, professional corporation, or a limited liability partnership, in which entity a Lawyer is practicing with one or more other members of the Bar of this State who are partners, shareholders or owners.
(5) “Lawyer” means a member of the Bar of this State who is engaged in the private practice of law in this State. “Lawyer” does not include a member of the Bar whose practice is solely as an employee of another Lawyer, a Fiduciary Entity, or an organization that is not engaged in the private practice of law.
(b) Designation of Attorney Surrogate.
(1) At the time of completing the annual registration required by Ind. Admission and Discipline Rule 2(b), a Lawyer may designate an Attorney Surrogate in the Courts Portal by specifying the attorney number of the Attorney Surrogate and certifying that the Attorney Surrogate has agreed to the designation in a writing in possession of both the Lawyer and the surrogate. The designation of an Attorney Surrogate shall remain in effect until revoked by either the designated Attorney Surrogate or the Lawyer designating the Attorney Surrogate. The Lawyer who designates the Attorney Surrogate shall notify the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education of any change of designated Attorney Surrogate within thirty (30) days of such change. The Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education shall keep a list of designated Attorney Surrogates and their addresses.
(2) A Lawyer, practicing in a Fiduciary Entity, shall state the name and address of the Fiduciary Entity where indicated in the Attorney Surrogate designation section of the Courts Portal. Because of the ongoing responsibility of the Fiduciary Entity to the clients of the Lawyer, no Attorney Surrogate shall be appointed for a Lawyer practicing in a Fiduciary Entity.
(3) A Lawyer not practicing in a Fiduciary Entity who does not designate an Attorney Surrogate pursuant to subsection (1) above shall be deemed to designate a senior judge or other suitable member of the bar of this State in good standing appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction to perform the duties of an Attorney Surrogate.
(c) Role of Attorney Surrogate.
(1) Upon notice that a Lawyer has:
(i) Died;
(ii) Disappeared;
(iii) Become disabled; or
(iv) Been disbarred or suspended and has not fully complied with the provisions of Ind. Admission and Discipline Rule 23, Section 26,
any interested person (including a local bar association) or a designated Attorney Surrogate may file in a court of competent jurisdiction a verified petition (1) informing the court of the occurrence and (2) requesting appointment of an Attorney Surrogate.
(2) A copy of the verified petition shall be served upon the Lawyer at the address on file with the Executive Director of the Indiana Office of Admissions and Continuing Education or, in the event the Lawyer has died, upon the Lawyer’s personal representative, if one has been appointed. Upon the filing of the verified petition, the court shall, after notice and opportunity to be heard (which in no event shall be longer than ten (10) days from the date of service of the petition), determine whether there is an occurrence under (a), (b), (c) or (d), and an Attorney Surrogate needs to be appointed to act as custodian of the law practice. If the court finds that an Attorney Surrogate should be appointed then the court shall appoint as Attorney Surrogate either the designated Attorney Surrogate as set forth pursuant to subsection (b)(1), a suitable member of the Bar of this State in good standing or a senior judge.
(3) Upon such appointment, the Attorney Surrogate may:
(i) Take possession of and examine the files and records of the law practice, and obtain information as to any pending matters which may require attention;
(ii) Notify persons and entities who appear to be clients of the Lawyer that it may be in their best interest to obtain replacement counsel;
(iii) Apply for extensions of time pending employment of replacement counsel by the client;
(iv) File notices, motions, and pleadings on behalf of the client where jurisdictional time limits are involved and other legal counsel has not yet been obtained;
(v) Give notice to appropriate persons and entities who may be affected, other than clients, that the Attorney Surrogate has been appointed;
(vi) Arrange for the surrender or delivery of clients' papers or property;
(vii) As approved by the court, take possession of all trust accounts subject to Ind. Prof. Cond. R. 1.15(a), and take all appropriate actions with respect to such accounts;
(viii) Deliver the file to the client; make referrals to replacement counsel with the agreement of the client; or accept representation of the client with the agreement of the client; and
(xi) Do such other acts as the court may direct to carry out the purposes of this Section.
(4) If the Attorney Surrogate determines that conflicts of interest exist between the Attorney Surrogate's clients and the clients of the Lawyer, the Attorney Surrogate shall notify the court of the existence of the conflict of interest with regard to the particular cases or files and the Attorney Surrogate shall take no action with regard to those cases or files.
(5) Upon appointment, the Attorney Surrogate shall notify the Disciplinary Commission.
(d) Jurisdiction of court.
A court of competent jurisdiction that has granted a verified petition for appointment under this Section shall have jurisdiction over the files, records, and property of clients of the Lawyer and may make orders necessary or appropriate to protect the interests of the Lawyer, the clients of the Lawyer, and the public. The court shall also have jurisdiction over closed files of the clients of the Lawyer and may make appropriate orders regarding those files including, but not limited to, destruction of the same.
(e) Time limitations suspended.
Upon the granting of a verified petition for appointment under this Section, any applicable statute of limitations, deadline, time limit, or return date for a filing as it relates to the Lawyer's clients (except as to a response to a request for temporary emergency relief) shall be extended automatically to a date 120 days from the date of the filing of the petition, if it would otherwise expire on or after the date of filing of the petition and before the extended date.
(f) Applicability of attorney-client rules.
Persons examining the files and records of the law practice of the Lawyer pursuant to this Section shall observe the attorney-client confidentiality requirements set out in Ind. Professional Conduct Rule 1.6 and otherwise may make disclosures in camera to the court only to the extent necessary to carry out the purposes of this Section. The attorney-client privilege shall apply to communications by or to the Attorney Surrogate to the same extent as it would have applied to communications by or to the Lawyer. However, the Attorney Surrogate relationship does not create an attorney/client relationship between the Attorney Surrogate and the client of the Lawyer.
(g) Final report of Attorney Surrogate: petition for compensation; court approval.
When the purposes of this Section have been accomplished with respect to the law practice of the Lawyer, the Attorney Surrogate shall file with the court a final report and an accounting of all funds and property coming into the custody of the Attorney Surrogate. The Attorney Surrogate may also file with the court a petition for reasonable fees and expenses in compensation for performance of the Attorney Surrogate's duties. Notice of the filing of the final report and accounting and a copy of any petition for fees and expenses shall be served as directed by the court. Upon approval of the final report and accounting, the court shall enter a final order to that effect and discharging the Attorney Surrogate from further duties. Where applicable, the court shall also enter an order fixing the amount of fees and expenses allowed to the Attorney Surrogate. The amount of fees and expenses allowed shall be a judgment against the Lawyer or the estate of the Lawyer. The judgment is a lien upon all assets of the Lawyer (except trust funds) retroactive to the date of filing of the verified petition for appointment under this Section. The judgment lien is subordinate to nonpossessory liens and security interests created prior to its taking effect and may be foreclosed upon in the manner prescribed by law. To the extent a senior judge is not fully compensated under this subsection, the senior judge may seek compensation pursuant to Administrative Rule 5 (B)(10).
(h) Immunity.
Absent intentional wrongdoing, an Attorney Surrogate shall be immune from civil suit for damages for all actions and omissions as an Attorney Surrogate under this Section. This immunity shall not apply to an employment after acceptance of representation of a client with the agreement of the client under subsection (c)(3)(viii) above.