American Bar Association oks multijurisdictional practice.

In a significant and far-reaching action, the American Bar Association has loosened its strictures against interstate practice in the United States, has made it easier for lawyers licensed in one state to be admitted to practice in another on motion without taking another bar examination, and has urged states to adopt rules to permit foreign lawyers--that is, persons not admitted to practice in an American jurisdiction--to provide legal services in the United States under certain circumstances.

In August, the ABA House of Delegates, its ruling body, adopted a comprehensive set of recommendations put forward by the ABA Commission on Multijurisdictional Practice, which was appointed in July 2000. The commission proposed 10 recommendations, all of which were approved. But this is not the end. The recommendations now go to the various U.S. states for adoption as they see fit.

The complete report of the commission, in addition to other material, is available at the commission's website--http://www. abanet.org/cpr/mjp-home.html.

Recommendation No. 1

That the ABA affirm its support for the principle of state judicial regulation of the practice of law. This recommendation rejected what some persons had proposed to the commission--that it advocate a national licensing regime. The commission noted that state-based admission to the practice of law preceded even the formation of the United States and that "for the present" the case had not been made for such a fundamental change.

Recommendation No. 2

That the ABA re-title Rule 5.5 of its Model Rules of Professional Conduct as "Unauthorized Practice of Law; Multijurisdictional Practice of Law" and amend the rule to accommodate the realities of modern multijurisdictional practice.

This recommendation is the heart of the MJP commission's proposals. For about 100 years, the American concept of the "unauthorized practice of law" has encompassed lawyers who practice in a jurisdiction in which they are not licensed, as well as non-lawyers. Unauthorized practice of law generally is controlled by state statute and in some instances is a misdemeanor. The ABA could not amend or repeal these statutes by its own action. However, Rule 5.5 of the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, when coupled with Rule 8.4, renders a lawyer who engages in the "unauthorized practice of law" subject to professional discipline. It is this threat of discipline that is blunted and eliminated in some instances by the amendments to...