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In House Jobs and Bar Admission

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:02 pm
by 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?

Re: In House Jobs and Bar Admission

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:08 pm
by 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.

Re: In House Jobs and Bar Admission

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 10:32 pm
by Anonymous User
zot1 wrote: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

Re: In House Jobs and Bar Admission

Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 11:01 pm
by 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.

Re: In House Jobs and Bar Admission

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:23 am
by Anonymous User
kellyfrost wrote: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. ?

Re: In House Jobs and Bar Admission

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:51 am
by 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.

Re: In House Jobs and Bar Admission

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:55 am
by murdock83

Re: In House Jobs and Bar Admission

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 10:59 am
by nealric
Anonymous User wrote: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.

Removed

Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 11:27 am
by kellyfrost
Removed post...