Interesting thanks for this Suppose that I a British gentleman and university graduate and therefore arguably entitled to the style Esq in the UK but not a qualified lawyer of any sort were to visit the US and happen to use the suffix Esq there Could I be prosecuted for misrepresentation Do the state bars claim sole right to grant this suffix in the US or are they just the only organisations which currently do This is entirely a hypothetical question by the way I m not expecting to visit the US in the near future and I don t write Esq after my name anyway I m just curious as to the exact legal standing of the term in the US