As I complete my 20th year of doing administrative and regulatory work related to the practice of law, I’ve seen some repeated patterns where good lawyers and law firms have found themselves in disciplinary crosshairs because of rules that, at least in my opinion, probably no longer serve any social or professional purpose other than to make life difficult. I’ve written about this before. Here’s a sample of some recent conundrums:

  • A lawyer in Illinois makes several calls to a lawyer in Colorado who represents a landlord with whom the lawyer’s in-laws have a dispute. The matter is resolved quickly. Then the Illinois lawyer finds himself the subject of a Colorado unauthorized practice prosecution. What did he do wrong?
  • Two lawyers, one admitted in Massachusetts and the other in New York wish to work for a Connecticut-based charity that provides goods and services to both foreign and domestic communities. Their work will be rendered both in-person, in Connecticut, and remotely, and will deal with federal law as well as the laws of many states and countries. Can they do this?
  • A lawyer licensed in the Midwest takes a few years off from the practice of law to teach and work in government. Now she’d like to move to Connecticut and take a legal job here without taking the bar or the MPRE again. Can she?

Welcome to the world of unauthorized practice, the trifecta of lawyer trouble. It’s a civil wrong, an ethical breach, and a criminal offense in every state. Oh, and to add insult to injury, lawyers found to have engaged in unauthorized practice may also have to forfeit any claim to fees earned for said unauthorized conduct. Bottom line, it’s a real problem.

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