Bar in Law School State or D.C. for Fed Honors Attorney? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Are there any downsides to getting barred in your law school's state instead of D.C. if you're going to the feds right out of law school? I'd like to avoid having to travel to D.C. just for the bar if possible since I won't move there till September/October

[Anonymous User]

I don’t think so. I’m barred in my law school state (I clerked there before doing honors) and it’s never been a problem. As a government attorney, as long as you’re barred in a state, any state, you should be able to appear in federal court. The federal attorneys I know are all barred all over the place.

(Fun fact, I’ve gone to court a lot over my career but have yet to appear in court in the state where I’m barred.)

[Donerail]

One obvious downside: The DC bar doesn't have any mandatory CLE requirements, while your law school's state probably does.

[Anonymous User]

Are there any downsides to getting barred in your law school's state instead of D.C. if you're going to the feds right out of law school? I'd like to avoid having to travel to D.C. just for the bar if possible since I won't move there till September/October

Doesn't matter, I'm an honors attorney barred in my home state (non-DC) and it hasn't created problems aside from possibly doing pro bono in Virginia

[Anonymous User]

Downside may be higher bar fees, a CLE req., etc. Look into the long term costs.

[Anonymous User]

Cheers, thanks all! Luckily the non-D.C. state I'm considering also has no CLE and its dues are only slightly higher than D.C. so I think I'll just go with that.