Consider the situation of a lawyer who works at home from a jurisdiction different from the jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice. This might occur because the lawyer is now working at home because of Covid19, or the lawyer is a part-time employee working virtually for a law firm in another jurisdiction where the lawyer is admitted to practice, or because the lawyer has a well-established practice in one jurisdiction and is making a life-style change while continuing to represent her clients virtually.  Two recent state ethics committee opinions, one from Florida and one from Utah, have advised that a lawyer in this situation does not engage in the unauthorized practice of law so long as the lawyer does not open an office for the practice of law in the state (for example, works only from home), does not hold himself out as practicing law in the state, and does not give legal advice to the residents of the state. In this situation the opinions advise that there is no risk to the residents of the state and therefore no legitimate public policy basis for the state to regulate the lawyer’s conduct. The physical presence of the lawyer in a state while rendering legal services to clients in states where the lawyer is admitted to practice on the law of that state is insufficient for the state of the lawyer’s residence to regulate the lawyer’s conduct. See Utah Ethics Adv. Op. 19-03, Florida Bar Standing Comm. on the Unlicensed Practice of Law, FAO 2019-4. (The Florida Opinion is subject to review by the state Supreme Court.)

Nathan M. Crystal