By: LINDSEY O’NEILL, ESQ.

In these modern times, both individuals and businesses often need legal services in several states…. and many times clients want their same lawyer to handle all those matters. Makes sense to me! I’d certainly rather have my regular real estate lawyer handle all my purchases, sales, etc. of property in various states. He or she would already be familiar with my preferences, etc., and with how best to work with me. Also, with that familiarity, he or she would be in a great position to advise me if any particular transaction would benefit or injure my position on another transaction. This scenario is commonly referred to as the multijurisdictional practice of law. Wouldn’t it be cool if lawyers could practice nationwide?

As a first step, let’s take a look at the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 5.5, regarding Multijurisdictional Practice of Law, provides:

(a) A lawyer shall not practice law in a jurisdiction in violation of the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction, or assist another in doing so.

(b) A lawyer who is not admitted to practice in this jurisdiction shall not:

(1) except as authorized by these Rules or other law, establish an office or other systematic and continuous presence in this jurisdiction for the practice of law; or
(2) hold out to the public or otherwise represent that the lawyer is admitted to practice law in this jurisdiction.

(c) A lawyer admitted in another United States jurisdiction, and not disbarred or suspended from practice in any jurisdiction, may provide legal services on a temporary basis in this jurisdiction that:

(1) are undertaken in association with a lawyer who is admitted to practice in this jurisdiction and who actively participates in the matter;
(2) are in or reasonably related to a pending or potential proceeding before a tribunal in this or another jurisdiction, if the lawyer, or a person the lawyer is assisting, is authorized by law or order to appear in such proceeding or reasonably expects to be so authorized;
(3) are in or reasonably related to a pending or potential arbitration, mediation, or other alternative dispute resolution proceeding in this or another jurisdiction, if the services arise out of or are reasonably related to the lawyer’s practice in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice and are not services for which the forum requires pro hac vice admission; or
(4) are not within paragraphs (c)(2) or (c)(3) and arise out of or are reasonably related to the lawyer’s practice in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice.

(d) A lawyer admitted in another United States jurisdiction, and not disbarred or suspended from practice in any jurisdiction, may provide legal services in this jurisdiction that:

(1) are provided to the lawyer’s employer or its organizational affiliates and are not services for which the forum requires pro hac vice admission; or
(2) are services that the lawyer is authorized to provide by federal law or other law of this jurisdiction.

Not too bad… but it’s far from the nationwide practice of law. Lawyers still have to associate with local counsel, or seek permission from a new state to practice in a limited fashion, etc. Even so, the lawyer can’t fully practice in the state without being licensed there, nor can a lawyer fully represent his/her existing client in many aspects of their regular matters that happen to be out of the lawyer’s home state.

There is, however, a growing interest in true multijurisdictional law practice. The realities of how we live and work today have simply necessitated the pursuit of new rules. In fact, the National Conference of Bar Examiners has long been advocating for more uniform state licensing rules. The NCBE has even advocated for a uniform bar examination (UBE) for quite some time. The idea is that after passing the UBE, attorneys could the transport their scores across state lines and avoid having to take the state’s full bar exam.

Of course, for true multijurisdictional practice, there would have to be appropriate rules and standards establishing the minimum competency and professionalism requirements for a lawyer to practice law. Those standards couldn’t be very difficult to determine. Feel free to weigh in if you have some ideas – what would the standards look like to practice law nationwide?