Release Date: August 1, 2001	Release Number:  49

New Report Proposes Changes in Rules on Out-of-State Lawyers

San Francisco—A California Supreme Court task force today issued a preliminary report that proposes easing the current restrictions governing in-state law practice by out-of-state lawyers.

Under current rules, out-of-state lawyers must pass the California bar exam, among other requirements, before practicing law in this state.  The task force proposes changes that would allow four categories of out-of-state lawyers to practice here in defined circumstances without passing the State Bar Exam.

“The report is an important first step in the process of reforming multijurisidictional practice,” said San Francisco attorney Raymond Marshall, chair of the California Supreme Court Advisory Task Force on the Multijurisdictional Practice of Law.  “We are now circulating the report for comment and look forward to input from the state’s legal community.”

Since its appointment by the Supreme Court in January 2001, the panel has studied whether and under what circumstances attorneys licensed to practice law in United States jurisdictions other than California should be permitted to practice law in this state.

This issue—often called “multijurisdictional practice”—is the subject of great debate in California, the report notes.  The Supreme Court is responsible for regulating and disciplining attorneys that practice law in California.

The task force recommends changes that would permit the following four categories of lawyers to practice in California in defined circumstances:

• In-house counsel providing out-of-court legal services exclusively for a single, full-time business entity employer (e.g., a corporation or partnership) that does not provide legal services to third parties.

• Public interest lawyers providing legal services to indigent clients on an interim basis before taking the California bar exam, under the supervision of an experienced member of the State Bar.

• Transactional and other non-litigating lawyers providing legal services in California on a temporary and occasional basis.

• Litigating lawyers providing legal services in California in anticipation of filing a lawsuit in California, or as part of litigation pending in another jurisdiction.

• Registration: This process would be similar to admission to the State Bar of California, but would not require an attorney to pass the California bar exam.  It would permit an attorney licensed and in good standing in another jurisdiction in the U.S. to practice law in California on an ongoing basis.  The task force recommends this approach for in-house counsel residing in California and employed by business entities.

• Change in the definition of the unauthorized practice of law: This would allow out-of-state attorneys to undertake a specified task without violating California law.  This approach—often called a “safe harbor”—would apply when an attorney’s involvement in California is too brief or infrequent to warrant the time and expense that would be required with registration.

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