MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.
COMMITTEE ON ETHICS
ETHICS DOCKET NO. 2002-09
Whether Attorney Not Admitted to Practice in Maryland May Practice Before non-Maryland Courts Out of Office Located in Maryland
Your letter asks whether an attorney admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, but not in Maryland, may have an office in Maryland to meet with his DC clients and practice immigration, bankruptcy and other matters involving federal courts and agencies.
Rule 5.5(a) of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct states:
"A lawyer shall not:
(a) practice law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction;..."
The Comments to Rule 5.5 provide that the definition of the practice of law is established by law. While the Committee opines only on matters of ethics and does not opine on matters of law, we refer you to Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Harris-Smith, 356 Md. 72, 737 A.2d 567 (1999), where the Court of Appeals held an attorney not admitted to practice in Maryland in violation of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct when the attorney "pinpointed" bankruptcy cases, but the evidence demonstrated that she analyzed matters that came to her to determine whether action in the district bankruptcy court was the proper course of action and where she did not advise clients that she was limiting her legal representation to bankruptcy proceedings. See also Ethics Docket 95~28.1
Furthermore, the Committee refers you to Rule 701 of the Rules of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland which states that:
"an attorney is qualified for admission to the bar of this district if the attorney is a member in good standing of the highest court of any State (or the District of Columbia) in which the attorney maintains his or her principal law office, or of the Court of Appeals of Maryland...
In order to practice in Federal District Court in Maryland, you would have to either (a) be a member in good standing of the Maryland Court of Appeals or (b) be a member of the highest court of the District of Columbia (or any other State) AND maintain your principal law office in D.C. (or in the jurisdiction in which you are licensed) . If you did not maintain your principal office in D.C., the only way you could be admitted to practice in Federal District Court in Maryland would be to be admitted to the Bar in Maryland.
Your letter also asks a number of questions relating to the requirements for the admission to the Maryland Bar. The Ethics Committee does not handle matters relating to licensure and admission to the Maryland Bar. You should address your questions on this topic to the Maryland State Board of Law Examiners, which handles admissions to the Maryland Bar.
1 The Committee's opinions and an index of opinions may be found at www.msba.org (click on "Ethics Opinions").