Vt. R. Prof. Cond. 4.5
A lawyer shall not present, participate in presenting, or threaten to present criminal charges in order to obtain an advantage in a civil matter.
Comment
[1] The civil adjudicative process is primarily designed for the settlement of disputes between parties, while the criminal process is designed for the protection of society as a whole. Threatening to use, or using, the criminal process to coerce adjustment of private civil claims or controversies is a subversion of that process; further, the person against whom the criminal process is so misused may be deterred from asserting the person's legal rights, and thus the usefulness of the civil process in settling private disputes is impaired. As in all cases of abuse of judicial process, the improper use of criminal process tends to diminish public confidence in our legal system.
Vt. R. Prof. Cond. 4.5
There is no equivalent in the Model Rules to V.R.P.C. 4.5, which was based on the former Vermont Code if Professional Responsibility, DR 7-105 and EC 7-21. See Reporter's Notes to V.R.P.C. 4.5 (1999). The only change is the insertion of the bracketed number to designate the Comment. Note that the conduct proscribed is also an offense under 13 V.S.A. § 1701, which provides criminal penalties for maliciously threatening "to accuse another of a crime or offense, . with intent to extort money or other pecuniary advantage, or with intent to compel the person so threatened to do an act against his will" and thus might also be a violation of Rule 8.4.