Rule 8.3 Rule 8.3. Reporting professional misconduct. This Rule does not require disclosure of information otherwise protected by Rule 1.6. This rule does not require disclosure of information provided to or discovered by members of the Utah State Bar during the course of their work on the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Committee, a committee which has as its purpose the counseling of other bar members about substance abuse or psychological or emotional problems.
Lawyers have a similar obligation with respect to judicial misconduct.
An apparently isolated violation may indicate a pattern of misconduct that only a disciplinary investigation can uncover. Reporting a violation is especially important where the victim is unlikely to discover the offense. A report about misconduct is not required where it would involve violation of Rule 1.6. However, a lawyer should encourage a client to consent to disclosure where prosecution would not substantially prejudice the client's interests. If a lawyer were obliged to report every violation of the Rules, the failure to report any violation would itself be a professional offense.