In House Jobs and Bar Admission Forum

[Anonymous User]

This may be a dumb question, but as someone dealing with potential bar admission problems I am hoping for a certain answer here..

Say you were licensed in State X and worked as a lawyer at a firm in that state. An in-house opportunity presents itself in State Y, do you necessarily need to be admitted in State Y to take that job?

[zot1]

It will depend on the company and the type of work that you will be doing. I know in-house counsel who have bar admission from a different state to where they practice because they do purely transactional work.

[Anonymous User]

It will depend on the company and the type of work that you will be doing. I know in-house counsel who have bar admission from a different state to where they practice because they do purely transactional work.

Sorry, I meant to clarify that point - I am asking only about transactional work

[kellyfrost]

I would just read on the state's rules of professional responsibility and you can find an answer or contact the bar.

However, most states have an exception where if you are licensed in State A you can be licensed as in house counsel only in State B without taking a bar exam. Once you start reading the rules of different states I think you'll find that the state bars have realized how big of a pain in the ass the situation could be for in house counsel so they have relaxed the rules quite a bit.

[Anonymous User]

I would just read on the state's rules of professional responsibility and you can find an answer or contact the bar.

However, most states have an exception where if you are licensed in State A you can be licensed as in house counsel only in State B without taking a bar exam. Once you start reading the rules of different states I think you'll find that the state bars have realized how big of a pain in the ass the situation could be for in house counsel so they have relaxed the rules quite a bit.

But would this require being accepted by the bar association of the state in which you work? I know the bar exam may not be necessary, but is it necessary to pass a C&F etc. ?

[murdock83]

It really depends on the state. I looked into the requirements of several because I wanted to avoid having to take another bar. Each has its own requirement for General Counsel. Some require you to be licensed in that state, some do not. I believe some require you to register with that State's bar in some respect. It also seems that some employers require to you have a license in that state regardless of the Bar rules, while some simply require you to be licensed.

[murdock83]

This may help http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/ ... eckdam.pdf

[nealric]

This may be a dumb question, but as someone dealing with potential bar admission problems I am hoping for a certain answer here..

Say you were licensed in State X and worked as a lawyer at a firm in that state. An in-house opportunity presents itself in State Y, do you necessarily need to be admitted in State Y to take that job?

Generally, no. I am not admitted in the state where I practice in-house. Bar rules are fairly permissive for out of state attorneys here.

[kellyfrost]

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