Restoring Court Authority Over Litigation Act of 2025
The Restoring Court Authority Over Litigation Act of 2025 would reaffirm that attorneys’ litigation activities are primarily regulated and overseen by state courts and authorized state disciplinary authorities, not by federal agencies or Congress. It would insert a new provision into Title 28 (Chapter 99) clarifying that federal agencies have no supervisory, enforcement, or regulatory authority over an attorney’s litigation activities, and it would bar private lawsuits against attorneys or law firms solely for those litigation activities. In addition, the bill would make conforming changes to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) to carve out licensed attorneys engaged in litigation activities from certain debt-collection rules. The overall aim is to preserve state court primacy in regulating the legal profession and to limit federal interference and private rights of action related to litigation conduct.
Key Points
- 1New Sec. 1632 in Title 28: Establishes Preservation of State and Federal courts’ authority to regulate attorneys engaged in litigation activities. It defines “litigation activities,” includes filing pleadings, discovery, court communications, depositions, enforcement of judgments, and other acts tied to litigation, and clarifies the scope of “State” to include all 50 states plus U.S. territories and possessions.
- 2Federal agency limitation: Prohibits any federal supervisory, enforcement, or regulatory authority over the litigation activities of attorneys or law firms, effectively barring federal intervention in how litigation is conducted by licensed attorneys.
- 3No private right of action: Prohibits private civil actions in federal courts arising from alleged misconduct related to an opposing attorney’s or law firm’s litigation activities.
- 4FDCPA conforming amendment: Adds a new carve-out to the definition of “debt collector” so that licensed attorneys or law firms engaging in litigation activities to collect a debt are not treated as debt collectors under the FDCPA when performing those litigation activities.
- 5CFPA conforming amendment: Clarifies that the rule restricting certain debt-collection activities does not apply to licensed attorneys engaging in litigation activities to collect a debt if the attorney is excluded from the FDCPA’s debt-collector definition (per the FDCPA carve-out).
- 6Statements and findings: Includes findings and a sense of Congress emphasizing state court regulation as the proper framework for attorney regulation and opposition to federal expansion of attorney regulation.