(a) Subject to IDEA and other applicable law, the chief hearing officer in the office for administering special education due process hearings (“office”) may enter an order restricting the practice of any attorney before the office after a showing that the attorney has engaged in a pattern of filing frivolous pleadings.
(b) A pattern of filing frivolous pleadings shall be established when an attorney has:
(1) Three or more federal court judgments against him or her due to the filing of frivolous pleadings;
(2) Three or more pleadings that are deemed by the chief hearing officer for the office as frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, including pleadings that were filed for an improper purpose, such as to harass, to cause unnecessary delay, or to needlessly increase the cost of litigation; or
(3) Filed a due process complaint without the knowledge and consent of the represented party.
(c) The restrictions that may be imposed by the chief hearing officer of the office include:
(1) Disqualification from a particular case;
(2) Suspension or disqualification from practice in special education due process hearings in the District of Columbia;
(3) A requirement that an attorney obtain ethics or other professional training; or
(4) A requirement that an attorney appear only when accompanied by another attorney.
(d) An attorney subject to a restriction under subsection (c) of this this section shall be given notice and an opportunity to be heard before the imposition of the restriction or as soon after imposition of the restriction as is practicable.
(e) Any person suffering a legal wrong or adversely affected or aggrieved by any order under this section may obtain judicial review of that order in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
(Mar. 10, 2015, D.C. Law 20-194, § 204, 61 DCR 12411.)