Adopted | Amendments to Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9
Approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia on May 28, effective July 27, 2026
May 28, 2026
On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court of Virginia adopted revisions to RPC 1.9. Effective July 27, 2026.
View the Court's order.
At its meeting on February 28, 2026, in Richmond, the Virginia State Bar Council approved proposed amendments to Part 6, § II. Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9. A petition was sent to the Supreme Court of Virginia for approval on March 9, 2026.
view the petition to the Court. (PDF posted 03/17/26)
The proposal has been approved by the Legal Ethics Committee and will be submitted to VSB Council in February 2026.
VSB Seeks Public Comment on Amendments to Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9
March 27, 2025
Pursuant to Part 6, § IV, ¶ 10-2(C) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia State Bar is seeking public comment on proposed amendments to Rule of Professional Conduct 1.9.
The proposed amendment to Rule 1.9(c) would permit a lawyer to use information gained in the course of the representation of a former client to the disadvantage of that former client if the information is limited to criminal history information that is available from external records in a law enforcement database or court records.
The proposed change would reduce the number of conflicts faced by criminal defense lawyers, including public defender offices. Under the current rule, a lawyer who learned a client’s criminal history during a previous representation has a conflict when representing a new client if the former client is an adverse witness and thus subject to impeachment based on that criminal history.
The amendment to Rule 1.9(c) would permit a lawyer to use that information to the disadvantage of a former client when that information is limited to criminal history information that is available from law enforcement databases or court records. This information would also typically be provided by the prosecution to any lawyer representing the defendant, and therefore the lawyer has no special advantage or additional information to be used against the former client.
Inspection and Comment
The proposed rule is available at the link below.
Any individual, business, or other entity may submit written comments in support of or in opposition to the proposed rule amendments with Cameron M. Rountree, executive director of the Virginia State Bar, not later than May 7, 2025. Comments may be submitted via email to [email protected].
View proposed amendments to Rule 1.9 (pdf)