“ABA Formal Opinion OKs Lawyers Who Sit in One Jurisdiction But Are Licensed in Another” —
- “The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Formal Ethics Opinion 495 confirms what many have said is the law under ABA Model Rule 5.5 for a while now: Lawyers can sit in a jurisdiction in which they are not licensed so long as they are licensed in a U.S. jurisdiction and are ‘invisible’ as a lawyer where they sit. Still, this confirmation will come as welcome news to many who have either been forced or chosen to relocate outside of their licensed jurisdiction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
- “The Formal Opinion does caveat that it does not apply to those jurisdictions that have already affirmatively barred such “invisible lawyering,” though it does not identify any such jurisdiction.”
- “The ABA’s conclusions are consistent with a recent advisory opinion issued by The Florida Bar’s Standing Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, which concluded that a lawyer licensed in New Jersey could live and practice law in Florida without violating RPC 4-5.5 because his presence for purposes of practicing law was in New Jersey and would in no way involve Florida clients, cases, parties, courts, etc. FAO #2019-4, Out-Of-State Attorney Working Remotely from Florida Home (Aug. 17, 2020).”
- “Lawyers who suddenly found themselves working from a new jurisdiction in 2020 can generally cross ‘take the ____ bar’ off their list for 2021 thanks to ABA Formal Opinion 495.”
- “Davis Wright Tremaine will require its attorneys and staff to be vaccinated if they are to return to the firm’s office, according to firm guidelines announced on Thursday. It is the first Am Law 200 firm to publicly announce such a requirement.”
- “The new policy requires that firm employees provide proof of vaccination ‘in the coming months’ to be allowed to return to the office or attend firm-sponsored events. Those who cannot get vaccinated due to disability, advice of a medical provider or religious beliefs will be asked to contact the firm’s Human Resources department to work out ‘reasonable accommodations.'”
- “If possible, the firm said it will set up a vaccination clinic onsite, as it does with annual flu shots, and will cover the cost of vaccination if an employee’s insurance, or the United States government, does not.”
- “But if law firms won’t mandate their attorneys be vaccinated, courts may. Texas state court officials, for example, have made it clear that judges, attorneys and court staff will have to be vaccinated for in-person jury trials to resume. Even then, people who will be required to come to court, such as jurors, will need to be vaccinated as well.”
- “The Florida law firm that employs President Biden’s brother Frank ran a newspaper ad on Inauguration Day touting the brothers’ relationship and shared values, a move that is causing an ethics headache for the administration less than two weeks after Biden took office.”
- “Press secretary Jen Psaki, speaking from the White House podium Friday, addressed the subject broadly, without mentioning the ad in particular. ‘It is the White House’s policy that the president’s name should not be used in connection with any commercial activities’ that would suggest or imply ‘his endorsement or support,’ she said. The ad featuring Frank Biden arguably runs afoul of that edict.”
- “The two-page “advertorial” ran on Jan. 20 in the South Florida-based Daily Business Review to promote the work of the Berman Law Group, which employs Frank Biden as a ‘non-attorney senior adviser.'”
- “President Biden has issued a wide-ranging executive order imposing ethical restrictions on his administration’s appointees, but that policy does not speak to his family members. Shortly before the inauguration, a Biden official told The Post that the White House would adopt procedures to ensure that activities by family members would not create a conflict of interest, or even the appearance of one.”