Can an out-of-state lawyer at an Illinois firm, awaiting Illinois admission, work from an Illinois office on her existing cases and on Illinois matters?
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This page answers the general question as of 2020. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, with citations.
Plain-English summary
An Illinois litigation firm wants to hire an out-of-state attorney, moving to Illinois, whose only law office will be with the firm. She will handle matters in state and federal courts where she is licensed, and will support the firm's Illinois-licensed lawyers on Illinois matters without appearing in court herself. She will apply for Illinois admission, disclose on the firm's website and in correspondence that she is admitted only in another state, and work as an associate under Illinois-admitted supervisors. The firm asks whether this is the unauthorized practice of law in Illinois.
The committee concludes it is not, treating the lawyer as working in two capacities. For her own cases, Rule 5.5(b)(1) generally bars an out-of-state lawyer from a systematic Illinois office presence, but Rule 5.5(d)(2) provides an exception for services the lawyer is authorized by other law or rule to provide, so she may work from the Illinois office on matters in jurisdictions whose rules permit it (she should confirm those jurisdictions' rules, and under Rule 8.5(a) she is subject to Illinois discipline as well). For Illinois matters, the committee notes Illinois does not allow out-of-state lawyers to practice in its courts pending admission, but Rule 5.3 lets lawyers employ nonlawyer assistants; the incoming lawyer's status on Illinois matters is analogous to a paralegal. Citing its own Opinion 20-01, the committee says she may perform many services a first-year associate performs so long as she is supervised by Illinois lawyers under Rule 5.3. Because the firm will disclose her bar-admission status, it complies with Rule 5.5(b)(2)'s bar on holding out as Illinois-admitted.
In practice
Under this opinion, an out-of-state lawyer at an Illinois firm may, from an Illinois office, continue handling her cases in jurisdictions where she is admitted if those jurisdictions' rules allow practice from an out-of-jurisdiction office, and may work on the firm's Illinois matters in a supervised, non-appearing, nonlawyer-assistant capacity. The opinion treats two conditions as load-bearing: Illinois-lawyer supervision under Rule 5.3, and clear disclosure that she is not admitted in Illinois so the firm does not hold her out as an Illinois lawyer under Rule 5.5(b)(2).
Common questions
Q: Can an out-of-state lawyer keep working her own cases from an Illinois office?
A: Yes, if those jurisdictions permit it. Rule 5.5(b)(1) generally bars a systematic Illinois office presence, but Rule 5.5(d)(2) excepts services the lawyer is authorized by other law or rule to provide, which the committee applies to her cases in courts where she is admitted.
Q: Can she work on the firm's Illinois matters before she is admitted here?
A: Yes, in a supported role. The committee says Illinois does not allow out-of-state lawyers to practice in its courts pending admission, but under Rule 5.3 she may work on Illinois matters under Illinois-lawyer supervision, like a nonlawyer assistant, without appearing in court.
Q: What disclosure is required?
A: The committee relies on the firm's plan to disclose, on its website and in correspondence, that she is admitted only in another state; this satisfies Rule 5.5(b)(2)'s prohibition on holding out as admitted in Illinois.
Q: Is she subject to Illinois discipline?
A: Yes. The committee notes that under Rule 8.5(a) she is subject to discipline by Illinois authorities as well as by the authorities of the jurisdictions where she is admitted.
Background and rules framework
The opinion interprets Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5 (unauthorized and multijurisdictional practice), in particular the 5.5(b) prohibitions and the 5.5(d)(2) authorized-by-other-law exception, alongside Rule 5.3 (responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistants) and Rule 8.5 (disciplinary authority). These track the corresponding Model Rules. The committee ties its supervision analysis to ISBA Opinion 20-01, which addressed the services an unadmitted law graduate may perform under supervision.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- MR 5.5 / IL RPC 5.5(b), 5.5(d)(2) (unauthorized and multijurisdictional practice)
- MR 5.3 / IL RPC 5.3 (responsibilities regarding nonlawyer assistants)
- MR 8.5 / IL RPC 8.5(a) (disciplinary authority)
Other opinions cited:
- ISBA Advisory Opinion 20-01 (May 2020) (services a supervised unadmitted graduate may perform)
See also
- ISBA Ethics Op. 20-01: Services a Law School Graduate May Perform Before Licensure
- ISBA Ethics Op. 15-01: Practice Before the U.S. PTO by Non-Illinois Lawyers
- ISBA Ethics Op. 12-09: Non-Illinois Lawyer Partnering With an Illinois Lawyer
Source
- Landing page: https://www.isba.org/ethics/opinions/2008
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