Sec. 51-81d. Client Security Fund.

(a) The Superior Court, in accordance with rules established by the judges of the Superior Court, may (1) establish a Client Security Fund to (A) reimburse claims for losses caused by the dishonest conduct of attorneys admitted to the practice of law in this state and incurred in the course of an attorney-client relationship, (B) provide for crisis intervention and referral assistance to attorneys admitted to the practice of law in this state who suffer from alcohol or other substance abuse problems or gambling problems, or who have behavioral health problems, and (C) make grants-in-aid to the organization administering the program for the use of interest earned on lawyers' clients' funds accounts pursuant to section 51-81c, for the purpose of funding the delivery of legal services to the poor, and (2) assess any person admitted as an attorney by the Superior Court, in accordance with section 51-80, an annual fee to be deposited in the Client Security Fund for the purposes described in this subsection. Such crisis intervention and referral assistance (i) shall be provided with the assistance of an advisory committee, to be appointed by the Chief Court Administrator, that includes one or more behavioral health professionals, and (ii) shall not be deemed to constitute the practice of medicine or mental health care.

(b) All fees assessed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and collected by the Superior Court in accordance with rules established by the judges of the Superior Court may be recorded with the State Comptroller and deposited with the State Treasurer, who shall credit such payments to the Client Security Fund. The State Treasurer shall maintain the Client Security Fund separate and apart from all other moneys, funds and accounts and shall credit any interest earned from the Client Security Fund to the fund. The Client Security Fund shall be maintained by the State Treasurer in trust for the sole and exclusive purposes and uses designated in this section. The moneys in the Client Security Fund are not tax revenues and may not be transferred or credited to the General Fund or any other fund or account except as expressly directed by the committee established to administer the fund and in accordance with rules established by the judges of the Superior Court.

(c) The Client Security Fund shall be used to satisfy the claims approved in accordance with procedures established pursuant to rules of the Superior Court, to provide funding for crisis intervention and referral assistance provided pursuant to this section, to make grants-in-aid to the organization administering the program for the use of interest earned on lawyers' clients' funds accounts pursuant to section 51-81c, for the purpose of funding the delivery of legal services to the poor, and to pay the reasonable costs of administration of the fund. Only moneys deposited in the Client Security Fund on or after October 1, 2016, may be used to make any such grants-in-aid to the organization administering the program for the use of interest earned on lawyers' clients' funds accounts pursuant to section 51-81c.

(d) No such fee shall be assessed to any attorney described in subsection (g) of section 51-81b, except that any attorney who does not engage in the practice of law as an occupation and receives less than one thousand dollars in legal fees or other compensation for services involving the practice of law during the calendar year shall be obligated to pay one-half of such fee.

(e) The Commissioner of Revenue Services shall notify the Chief Court Administrator or his designee of the failure of any person to pay any fee assessed in accordance with subsection (a) of this section.

(f) All information given or received in connection with crisis intervention and referral assistance provided pursuant to this section, including the identity of any attorney seeking or receiving such crisis intervention and referral assistance, shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to any third person other than a person to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of the purposes of such crisis intervention and referral assistance, and shall not be disclosed in any civil or criminal case or proceeding or in any legal or administrative proceeding, unless the attorney seeking or obtaining such crisis intervention and referral assistance waives such privilege or unless disclosure is otherwise required by law. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no attorney who provides crisis intervention and referral assistance pursuant to this section shall disclose any information given or received in connection with such crisis intervention and referral assistance unless such disclosure is required by the rules governing communications between attorney and client. Unless the privilege under this subsection has been waived or unless disclosure is otherwise required by law, no person in any civil or criminal case or proceeding or in any legal or administrative proceeding may request or require any information given or received in connection with the crisis intervention and referral assistance provided pursuant to this section.

(P.A. 97-267, S. 3; P.A. 00-170, S. 34, 42; 00-191, S. 1, 16; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 176; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2, S. 21; P.A. 09-29, S. 1; P.A. 16-26, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 00-170, effective July 1, 2000, and P.A. 00-191, effective May 26, 2000, both identically amended Subsec. (b) to provide that interest earned from the fund be credited to the fund and to authorize collection by commissioner's designee; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to insert Subpara. (A) designator and add new Subpara. (B) in Subdiv. (1) authorizing fund to provide for crisis intervention and referral assistance to attorneys who suffer from alcohol or other substance abuse problems or gambling problems or who have behavioral health problems and to add provision that such crisis intervention and referral assistance shall be provided with the assistance of an advisory committee that includes one or more behavioral health professionals and shall not be deemed to constitute the practice of medicine or mental health care, amended Subsec. (b) to delete obsolete provision re retroactive crediting of interest, amended Subsec. (c) to require fund to be used to provide funding for crisis intervention and referral assistance, added new Subsec. (d) re exemptions from fee assessment and reduced fee for certain attorneys and redesignated existing Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (e), effective August 20, 2003; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 04-2 made technical changes in Subsecs. (a), (b) and (c) and added Subsec. (f) re confidentiality of information given or received in connection with crisis intervention and referral assistance; P.A. 09-29 amended Subsec. (b) to replace “The Commissioner of Revenue Services, or the commissioner's designee, shall collect any fee established pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, record such payments with the State Comptroller and deposit such payments promptly with the State Treasurer” with “All fees assessed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and collected by the Superior Court in accordance with rules established by the judges of the Superior Court may be recorded with the State Comptroller and deposited with the State Treasurer”, delete provision re interest earned from fund to be credited to fund and add provisions requiring State Treasurer to maintain fund in trust for sole and exclusive purposes and uses designated in section, specifying that moneys in fund are not tax revenues and prohibiting moneys in fund being transferred or credited to General Fund or any other fund or account except as expressly directed by committee established to administer fund and in accordance with court rules, effective May 7, 2009; P.A. 16-26 amended Subsecs. (a)(1) and (c) by adding provisions authorizing fund to make grants-in-aid for the delivery of legal services to the poor and by making conforming changes, amended Subsec. (a)(2) by adding “for the purposes described in this subsection”, further amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re only moneys deposited in fund on or after October 1, 2016, may be used to make such grants-in-aid and amended Subsec. (d) by replacing $450 with $1,000, effective July 1, 2016.