By Order dated October 9, 2024, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania amended Rule 1.8(j) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, which addresses conflicts of interest related to sexual relations with a client, to clarify what conduct constitutes “sexual relations”.
The amendment adds a sentence to the rule, stating, “‘Sexual relations’ includes, but is not limited to, communications of a sexual nature.”
Comment 17 to the rule is amended to further define the nature of such communications. “For purposes of this Rule, ‘communications of a sexual nature’ means requesting or transmitting any content, images, audio, video, or messages that contain sexually explicit material or that are intended to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of the sender or recipient.” However, “Communications that contain sexually explicit content but are related to the client’s legal matter and are made in furtherance of the representation are not ‘communications of a sexual nature’ for the purposes of this Rule.”
This amendment takes effect thirty days after the date of the Order, on November 9, 2024.