LAWYERS: Does anyone know if I can practice any law in a state if I’m licensed in a different state?
I am licensed to practice law in New Jersey and was wondering if it would be possible to move to another state without “waiving in” and doing things like bankruptcy or immigration- anything in the federal courts that only require you to have an active license in a state. Someone told me that if you’re actively licensed in one state that there are certain kinds of things you can anywhere. Yes, I know that some states have reciprocity, etc, but I really don’t feel like moving to D.C., etc. I would like to move to Ohio for a year or two and not have to take the bar exam there. Are there any areas of practice that I could do while there with my NJ license?
Any good suggestions would be appreciated. If you don’t know the answer to this question, please don’t answer it, thanks!
September 21st, 2009 at 6:04 am
no, as far as i know u cant, but since u are a laywer as well, maybe u just call a judge.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 am
sounds interesting though but u r a lawyer then u must know law
well as far as my knowledge goes i guess u need to take a special permission from the highest law authorities of both the states before you move on hope that shall be enough
hope it would b useful
wish u success
September 24th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
I’m not a lawyer but I’m positive that you have to be licensed in that particular state. I once had a Virginia/Tennessee lawsuit and I had to hire 2 lawyers one for each state.
September 25th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
I don’t know that answer. that should have been something a “lawyer” would have learned in law school.
September 27th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Depends, you can challenge the Bar Exam and be licensed in two states or you can do Federal Administrative Law, which requires only the Federal portion of that states exam.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:47 am
from what I understand you can sit in as a friend of the court but if you plan on practicing law in another state you must approach the bar in theat state and pay your dues and or pass the bar again. Mainly they want the dues, to be licensed in that state. The retesting is there to try and set up berriers in tough markets. You could approach an existing firm in another state and see if they will let you work out of their offices for a percentage of the cases agreeing that they will serve as the lawyer of record should there be any filing questions. It is tricky but ethical.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
You can do federal law in any state, provided you apply for admission in that FEDERAL jurisdiction. If you move to ohio and you have an NJ law license, and you want to do bankruptcies or immigration in your new state just apply for admission to the local U.S. district court. There is no test, they just want you to pay money (its like $250 where I am) fill out the application, get sworn in, and voila, do any federal law you want. (Bankruptcy court may be a separate application).
You can waive in for the STATE bar with reciprocity after usually five years, or, you can do certain state cases by applying pro hac vice (an in camera interview with the judge before whom you want to appear).
September 30th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
It gives me pause that another attorney would turn to Yahoo Answers to find out bar admission requirements, rather than go to the appropriate state bar directly.
Anyway, some states are reciprocal, either immediately or after a number of years of practice, and you can get admitted “on motion”. Many states are only reciprocal with your state if your state is reciprocal with them. Some states (including California) are not reciprocal with any other state, and you need to take the local bar to be admitted locally. Ohio appears to require only admission to any other state, and 5 years practice out of the last ten. (see link below for details)
Then there’s “pro hac vice” status, if you just are involved in a specific local case, though many states also require that you affiliate with a local admitted attorney.
There’s also federal practice, which has been addressed above.
Rules for admission in Ohio are available on their website (below). See Section 9.
October 4th, 2009 at 4:19 am
I can’t believe you asked this on Yahoo answers! This is not exactly the first source one turns to in order to check professional standards. – And anyway, shouldn’t you know this already?