US states should open door to foreign legal consultants, report urges ABA

Licensing: lawyers must be allowed to practise on a temporary basis, says commission

US states that do not allow foreign legal consultants should be encouraged to do so, the American Bar Association (ABA) has been told in a report which also calls for a regime to allow foreign lawyers to work temporarily in the US.An interim report by the ABA's commission on multi-jurisdictional practice found that many states have not adopted either the ABA's model rule for licensing foreign lawyers -- introduced in 1993 - or any alternative provision.'The experience of those states that have done so does not disclose regulatory problems resulting from licensing foreign legal consultants,' the report said.

'Therefore, the commission recommends that the ABA renews its support for foreign legal consultant provisions by encouraging states that have not done yet so to adopt the model rule.'The commission found that at present, no rules address temporary work performed in the US by foreign lawyers; the model rule focuses on work performed on a regular or established basis by foreign lawyers rather than, say, a solicitor acting on behalf of a UK client who has to visit the US to meet other parties to the transaction and their lawyers or to review documents.'While it is not feasible for foreign lawyers in circumstances such as these to seek admission as legal consultants, it should nevertheless be permissible for them to provide these temporary and limited services,' the report said.It added that there needs to be a rule to identify those circumstances where foreign lawyers can work in the US and not be guilty of the unauthorised practice of law.

A proposed rule includes services which 'arise out of or are reasonably related to a matter that has a substantial connection to a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice' or are governed primarily by international law or the law of a non-US jurisdiction.The main thrust of the report recommends that US lawyers should be allowed to practise temporarily in another state in servicing a client, which is currently not the case.

After consultation, a final version of the report will be put to the ABA's ruling House of Delegates next August.LINKS: www.abanet.org/cpr/mjp-home.htmlNeil Rose