Rule 255 CRCP

(1) Colorado Office of Attorney Professional Excellence. The Colorado Supreme Court hereby establishes a Colorado  Office of Attorney Professional Excellence (“APEX”). Through education, advocacy, and the promotion of best practices, the goals of such office are to assist:

(a) Lawyers and LLPs during the transition from  student to practitioner;

(b) Lawyers and LLPs new to the practice of law in Colorado;

(c) Lawyers and LLPs transitioning practice area, practice environment, or practice location;

(d) Lawyers and LLPs to adopt and uphold the professional qualities of honesty, integrity, fairness, and civility in the legal profession;

(e) Lawyers and LLPs to adopt high standards for client representation;

(f) Lawyers and LLPS to acquire the knowledge of how to exercise professional judgment and carry out the highest ideals in the practice of law;

(g) Lawyers and LLPs in the development of practical legal skills, knowledge of legal customs, and the use of best practices;

(h) Lawyers and LLPs in the development of personal or organizational well-being goals; and

(i) Lawyers and LLPs in the appreciation of the law practice tradition of community service and pro bono activities.

APEX and its director shall be under the supervision of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee (“Advisory Committee”) as set forth in C.R.C.P. 242.3(c)(2).

(2) APEX Services. The Colorado Office of Attorney Professional Excellence shall provide the following services throughout the state of Colorado:

(a) Promotion and support of lawyer mentoring and professional development generally within the legal community;

(b) Programming to increase the awareness and understanding of APEX programs and their benefits;

(c) Establishment and maintenance of a -resource library of electronic materials for the development of educational programs, including but not limited to the following purposes: to promote professionalism, to teach practical legal skills, to increase knowledge of legal procedures and best practices and to otherwise improve – legal abilities and professional judgment for legal professionals ;

(d) Programming to increase mentoring skills within the legal profession;

(e) Assistance to lawyer groups and organizations that are developing internal mentoring programs;

(f) Support services for lawyer groups and organizations in maintaining a successful APEX-approved mentoring program;

(g) Support services and resources for successful professional relationships, ;

(h) Oversight of APEX-approved mentoring programs to ensure compliance with APEX protocols, policies and procedures;

(i) Maintenance and amendment of policies and procedures guiding APEX-approved mentoring programs;

(j) Administration and oversight of the Legal Entrepreneurs for Justice mentorship and training program for socially conscious solo-practitioners; and

(k) Administration and oversight of the Colorado Supreme Court Well-Being Recognition Program for Legal Employers.

(3) Director. The Advisory Committee shall appoint an APEX Director who serves at the pleasure of the Advisory Committee. The Director shall coordinate the annual budget of APEX with the Advisory Committee. A portion of the annual attorney registration fee shall be used to establish and administer APEX.

(4) Qualifications. The director shall have a Juris Doctor (“J.D.”) degree; at least five years of legal experience; and sufficient supervisory, management and training experience that may be necessary to properly administer APEX.

(5) Powers and Duties. The APEX Director shall act in accordance with these Rules and shall:

(a) Collaborate with existing mentoring programs in Colorado to further the goals of APEX outside of APEX-approved mentoring programs;

(b) Create, modify and maintain all requisite forms, agreements and online resources for administration of APEX;

(c) Receive, review, and, where appropriate, approve organizations’ submissions of their mentoring programs for preapproval to be a part of APEX;

(d) Receive, review, and approve mentee applicants for participation in APEX;

(e) Receive, screen, and recommend mentor applicants for appointment;

(f) Receive, review, approve where appropriate, and transmit to the Board of Continuing Legal and Judicial Education (Attorney Registration/CLE office) the certificates of completion, certificates of partial completion, and CLE affidavits;

(g) Coordinate and perform ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of APEX programs, and make recommendations accordingly;

(h) Recruit, hire, train, and supervise appropriate staff in administering APEX;

(i) Recruit, select, and train lawyer volunteers for assistance in administering APEX;

(j) Establish and maintain a permanent, central office to carry out the above duties and responsibilities;

(k) Maintain all records necessary for the successful administration of APEX;

(l) Prepare and present the annual budget of APEX in coordination with the Advisory Committee;

(m) Establish appropriate policies to assure that participants in APEX shall be protected from any forms of discrimination or harassment;

(n) Perform all other tasks necessary to facilitate administration of the APEX; and

(o) Perform such other related duties as the Supreme Court and the Advisory Committee may direct.

(6)Legal Entrepreneurs for Justice Program General Fee Provisions

(a)Fees. All attorneys accepted into the Legal Entrepreneurs for Justice program shall be subject to a program fee fixed by the Supreme Court. Such fee will be published annually on the APEX web page. As necessary to defray the costs of administering the program, the APEX Director will seek periodic increases to the program fees for new program participants.

(b)Collection of Fees. The program fees shall be collected by the APEX Director who shall send and receive, or cause to be sent and received, the notices and fees pursuant to a fee collection schedule that will be published annually on the Colorado Office of Attorney Excellence’s web page.

Within 21 days after the receipt of each fee in accordance with the fee schedule above, receipt thereof shall be acknowledged on a form prescribed by the APEX Director.

(c)Delinquency. Any attorney accepted into the Legal Entrepreneurs for Justice program who fails to timely pay the fee required under subparagraph (b) above shall be removed from the program at the discretion of the APEX Director, provided a notice of delinquency has been issued by the APEX Director and mailed by certified mail to the attorney addressed to the attorney’s last known mailing address at least 28 days prior to such removal, unless an excuse has been granted on grounds of financial hardship. The APEX Director may institute civil action to collect unpaid balances and all costs associated with the collection of unpaid balances, including without limitation, the costs of a debt collector, costs of court, and attorney’s fees, will be the responsibility of the attorney.

(d)Application of Fees. The entire portion of the program fee collected shall be used only for the administration of the Colorado Office of Attorney Professional Excellence.

C.R.C.P. 255 Entire rule added and effective May 15, 2013; amended and adopted by the Court, En Banc, April 16, 2020, effective 4/16/2020, effective immediately; amended and adopted by the Court, En Banc, May 20, 2021, effective 7/1/2021; amended and adopted by the Court, En Banc, 12/16/2021, effective immediately; amended and adopted by the Court, En Banc, 12/15/2022, effective immediately; amended and adopted by the Court, En Banc, 9/1/2025, effective immediately.