Ethics Hotline & Opinions

Ethics Docket No. 1990-10

MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.

COMMITTEE ON ETHICS

ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1990-10

Attorney Not Licensed in Maryland, Lobbying in Maryland

 

Unfortunately, the question you ask is not one which we are able to answer. Specifically, you indicate that you are associating in the practice of law with an attorney who is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania, but not Maryland. You anticipate that his activities will include lobbying before the General Assembly and various agencies of the State government. Thus, you ask whether that individual would be engaged in the unauthorized practice of law when he conducts lobbying in Maryland.

The Committee on Ethics is charged by the Maryland State Bar Association with the responsibility of providing guidance to members of the Bar on interpretation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. While those rules prohibit the practice of law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulations of the legal profession in the jurisdiction, Maryland Rule on Professional Conduct 5.5(a), the Rules do not define the unauthorized practice of law. Indeed, that issue presents a legal question, as opposed to a question of interpretation of the rules.

 

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to the rules of professional conduct, and future opinions of this Committee may render the Opinions stated herein outdated.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.