Rhode Island
Regulatory profile maintained from Official state bar, court, and regulatory websites (compiled via web research 2026-09-10).
Sources verifiedVerified
Last reviewed 2026-09-10. Always confirm the current rule on the official source before acting.
Bar & Regulation
- Bar / regulatory authority
- Rhode Island Bar Association
- Attorney registration lookup
- www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/SupremeCourt/SupremeBarRu…
- Rules of professional conduct
- www.ribar.com/ethics
- Ethics opinions
- www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/SupremeCourt/EthicsAdviso…
- Ethics hotline
- Research pending
- Mandatory bar
- Research pending
- Client security fund
- ribar.com/for-the-public/client-security-fund…
Trust Accounts & Fees
- IOLTA authority
- Rhode Island Bar Foundation IOLTA Program
- Trust recordkeeping rules
- Under RI RPC 1.15, lawyers must hold client funds in a dedicated trust account and preserve complete records of account funds and property for seven years after termination of representation.
- Fee agreement requirements
- Under RI RPC 1.5, the scope and basis or rate of fees must be communicated in writing (except for regular clients on the same basis), and contingent fee agreements must be in writing signed by the client.
- Flat-fee / advance-fee treatment
- Research pending
- Limited-scope representation
- Research pending
CLE & Advertising
- Current CLE requirements
- Active attorneys must complete 10 credit hours of approved CLE every calendar year, including at least 2 credit hours devoted to legal ethics.
- Advertising / solicitation rules
- www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/SupremeCourt/SupremeBarRu…
- Trade-name / firm-name rules
- Under RI RPC 7.1 and 7.5, trade names are permitted as long as they are not false or misleading and do not imply an association with a government agency or public legal services entity.
Practice & Remote
- Remote / virtual practice guidance
- Research pending
- Multijurisdictional / UPL rules
- Research pending
- Succession / designated-successor
- Research pending
- Malpractice insurance rules
- Research pending
- Data security / breach guidance
- Research pending
- Permitted entity types
- Research pending
Business Formation
- Secretary of State
- www.sos.ri.gov/divisions/business-services
- State tax department
- tax.ri.gov
- Local business registration
- Research pending
Courts & E-Filing
- State court homepage
- www.courts.ri.gov
- Trial court directory
- Research pending
- Appellate court directory
- Research pending
- E-filing portal
- www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/efile/Pages/default.aspx…
- Court forms
- www.courts.ri.gov/Pages/Forms.aspx
- Civil procedure rules
- Research pending
- Rules of evidence
- Research pending
- Case-law search
- www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/SupremeCourt/SupremeOpini…
- Statutes / codes
- www.rilegislature.gov
- Regulations / admin decisions
- Research pending
Federal Courts
- Federal district courts
- Research pending
- Federal bankruptcy courts
- Research pending
- Federal court admission
- Research pending
- Pro hac vice rules
- Under Article II, Rule 9 of the Supreme Court Rules, out-of-state attorneys may be admitted pro hac vice on motion of active local counsel, subject to payment of the required client protection fund fee.
Support & Resources
- Lawyer assistance / wellness
- ribar.com/for-lawyers/lawyers-helping-lawyers…
- Law libraries
- Research pending
- Practice management assistance
- Research pending
- Incubators / mentoring / referral
- Research pending
- Malpractice insurers / guidance
- Research pending
Verification record
- Review date
- 2026-09-10
- Source authority
- Official state bar, court, and regulatory websites (compiled via web research 2026-09-10)
- Status
- Verified
2026-09-10: Regulatory links and rule summaries added from official primary sources.
Report outdated info
Spotted a broken link or changed rule? Submit a correction for human review.
Report correctionABA Model Rules are context only. Each jurisdiction's adopted rules control. Never infer a state requirement from another state.