Ethics Hotline & Opinions

Ethics Docket No. 1995-23

MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.

COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1995-23

Non Maryland Attorney Advising Maryland Law

 

Your inquiry is whether an attorney, not licensed in Maryland, may give advice regarding the application of Maryland law to citizens of Maryland. Your letterhead indicates that your firm is located in Northern Virginia and that there are two attorneys in your firm who are members of the Maryland Bar. However, other attorneys who are members of the Bars of Virginia and the District of Columbia, have contact and give legal advice to Maryland residents in their areas of expertise regarding the application of Maryland law.

The Committee feels this is not a question of ethics involving the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct, but rather a matter of interpretation of law regarding possible unauthorized practice of law. As such, the Committee, pursuant to its long standing guidelines, respectfully declines to issue an opinion.

We direct your attention to the Business Occupations and Professions Article of the Annotated Code, §10-206, which requires admission to the Bar for anyone practicing law within the State. However, this requirement is silent as to requirements for out of state attorneys practicing Maryland law within their own jurisdictions.

We also remind you of Rule 5.5 of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct captioned, ""Unauthorized Practice of Law."" That Rule prohibits a lawyer from practicing law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction. It also prohibits a lawyer from assisting a person who is not a member of the Bar in the performance of activity that constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.

Lastly, Rule 8.5 expands the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Maryland Court of Appeals over lawyers not admitted to practice in Maryland. I respectfully refer to Docket No. 89-17 previously issued by this Committee. It addresses a similar question as your own.

References: Ethics Docket  1989-17

 

DISCLAIMER: Opinions of the Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) Ethics Committee are an uncompensated service of the MSBA. This Committee’s opinions are not binding on the Maryland Court of Appeals, Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission, MSBA or this Committee. The reader is advised that subsequent judicial opinions, revisions to the rules of professional conduct, and future opinions of this Committee may render the Opinions stated herein outdated. As such, the Committee’s opinions are advisory only and neither the Committee nor the MSBA assumes any liability whatsoever with respect thereto. Accordingly, reliance upon the opinions of this Committee is solely at the risk of the user.