Administrative Adjudication in Kentucky: Ethics and Unauthorized Practice Considerations

This article is an extended version of a presentation I made at a training course for hearing officers sponsored by the Office of the Attorney General, Division of Administrative Hearings. In my original presentation, I was asked to focus on the ethics of the administrative adjudicator. I was asked to answer some specific questions, which I will include here for the reader's benefit. In this more complete treatment, I would also like to discuss the ethics of lawyers and other representatives appearing before administrative agencies.

The Kentucky Courts had begun to "judicialize" the administrative hearing process in the early 1970's, but it was not until 1996 that Kentucky put into effect a general administrative hearing procedures act outlining "standardized minimum procedural protections." This important development has encouraged participants in the administrative process to take more seriously considerations of professionalism.