The Departments of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, pursuant to the authority invested in them, do hereby amend, effective January 1, 2014, Rule 7.4 of Part 1200 of Title 22 of the Official Compilations of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York, entitled "Rules of Professional Conduct," as follows:

RULE 7.4

Identification of Practice and Specialty

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(1) A lawyer who is certified as a specialist in a particular area of law or law practice by a private organization approved for that purpose by the American Bar Association may state the fact of certification if, in conjunction therewith, the certifying organization is identified and the following statement is prominently made: “[The name of the private certifying organization]This certification is not [affiliated with] granted by any governmental authority.”

(2) A lawyer who is certified as a specialist in a particular area of law or law practice by the authority having jurisdiction over specialization under the laws of another state or territory may state the fact of certification if, in conjunction therewith, the certifying state or territory is identified and the following statement is prominently made: “This [C]certification is not granted by [the identify state or territory is not recognized by] any governmental authority within the State of New York.”

(3) A statement is prominently made if:

(i) when written, it is clearly legible and capable of being read by the average person, and is at least two font sizes larger than the largest text used to state the fact of certification; and

(ii) when spoken, it is intelligible to the average person, and is at a cadence no faster, and a level of audibility no lower, than the cadence and level of audibility used to state the fact of certification.

The Departments of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, pursuant to the authority invested in them, do hereby amend, effective January 1, 2014, Part 1300 of Title 22 of the Official Compilations of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York, entitled "Dishonored Check Reporting Rules for Attorney Special, Trust and Escrow Accounts," as follows:

Part 1300. Dishonored Check Reporting Rules for Attorney Special, Trust and Escrow Accounts

§ 1300.1. Dishonored Check Reports

(a) Special bank accounts required by [Disciplinary Rule 9-102 (22 NYCRR 1200.46)] rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct (22 NYCRR 1200.0) shall be maintained only in banking institutions which have agreed to provide dishonored check reports in accordance with the provisions of this section.

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