Rule 10 Penalties for Failure to Satisfy Continuing Legal Education Requirement

(a) An attorney who has not complied with the applicable continuing legal education requirement by January 15 of the year following the reporting period shall be delinquent and shall be assessed a $300.00 delinquency fee. As soon as possible after January 15, the executive director of the Wyoming State Bar shall send a Notice of Delinquency to each delinquent attorney. The Notice of Delinquency shall be sent by United States mail and email to the attorney at the official address listed with the Wyoming State Bar. Attorneys who have not complied with the applicable continuing education requirement by January 15 of the year following the reporting period shall have until March 1 to cure the delinquency, along with payment of a $300.00 delinquency fee payable to the Wyoming State Bar. Applications submitted after January 1 shall be applied first to the attorney’s deficiency for the previous calendar year, if any.

(b) As soon as possible after March 1, the Wyoming State Bar shall submit a Recommendation for Suspension for Noncompliance with continuing legal education requirement to the Court for each attorney who failed to comply with the continuing legal education requirement for the previous calendar year and for each delinquent attorney who failed to pay the delinquency fee. A copy of the Recommendation for Suspension for Noncompliance shall be sent by United States mail and by email addressed to the attorney at the official address and email address listed with the Wyoming State Bar.

(c) Upon receipt of the Recommendation for Suspension for Noncompliance with the continuing legal education requirement, the Court shall issue an Order to Show Cause as to why the delinquent attorney’s license to practice law in the State of Wyoming should not be suspended, sent by United States mail and by email addressed to the attorney at the official address and email address listed with the Wyoming State Bar. Upon receipt of the order to show cause, the delinquent attorney shall either remedy the continuing legal education deficiency and pay the $300.00 delinquency fee and the $300.00 noncompliance fee or shall file a response with the Court within 30 days of the date of the order to show cause by filing an original and six copies of such response with the clerk of the Court. The delinquent attorney shall also serve a copy of the response on the executive director of the Wyoming State Bar, together with a $300.00 noncompliance fee payable to the Wyoming State Bar. The $300.00 noncompliance fee is in addition to the delinquency fee provided in subsection (a) of this rule.

(d) If the attorney files a response to the Order to Show Cause and mails a copy of the response to the executive director of the Wyoming State Bar, the Wyoming State Bar shall submit any additional information to the Court within five (5) days of filing of the attorney’s response. The Wyoming State Bar shall serve such submission on the attorney.

(e) In the absence of good cause shown, the Court may in its discretion impose a one year administrative suspension from the practice of law. It may also, in its discretion, not suspend an attorney who provides, in the attorney’s response to the order to show cause, (1) a specific plan to correct any noncompliance, with such plan to be completed within 60 days of the filing of the attorney’s response to the order to show cause, or (2) evidence of hardship justifying a waiver of such requirements as provided in Rule 7.