By Order dated October 7, 2025, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted a set of amendments to the Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement regarding the appointment of conservators for suspended, disabled, deceased, or otherwise absent attorneys.
Most of the amendments to Rules 321 through 328 simply add titles to describe the content of each section. Some substantive changes to the rules are incorporated into the amendments.
Rule 321(d) is amended to add language stating that the court appointing a conservator may adopt, as its findings of fact and statement of grounds, some or all of the allegations of the application. If so, the court must attach the application to the appointing order.
Rule 322(b), regarding publication of notice of the conservatorship to inactive and old cases, is amended to specify that the notice must, at a minimum, appear on one day in a newspaper of general circulation and the legal journal in the county in which the absent attorney maintained a principal office.
Rule 322(d), dealing with representation of clients and referral to other counsel, is amended. The conservator and members of the conservator’s firm remain prohibited from representing clients of the absent attorney, but the disqualification only applies until the termination of the conservatorship, not for three years. With the consent of the client, the conservator may now refer a client’s matter to a lawyer not disqualified under this section.
Amendments to Rule 325, regarding the duration of the conservatorship, now allow the conservator to apply for a nine-month extension of the conservatorship, up from six. Additional extensions of up to six months may also be granted. These extensions must be supported by findings of fact although the requirement of extraordinary circumstances is removed.
The amendments are effective in thirty days, or as of November 6, 2025.