Unauthorized Practice of Law. As can be seen, none of these disciplinary rules provide lawyers with particularly clear guidance as to when and under what circumstances their conduct will result in their violation. Apparently, for purposes of avoiding disciplinary charges, lawyers are presumed to know when their conduct will violate the regulations of the profession in another state. Unfortunately, a lawyer's assertion of good faith in engaging in particular conduct will not likely be an adequate defense to a charge of violation of one of these disciplinary rules. Lawyers need to research the precise language of the unlawful practice of law statutes, rules and regulations of states they have contact with in the representation of clients, unless, of course, they are already admitted to practice there.
Many states have statutory prohibitions against the unlawful practice of law.
A number of states also have rules and regulations, beyond the foregoing disciplinary rules, involving the unlawful practice of law. These statutes, rules and regulations must be considered before deciding whether to engage in particular conduct in or involving another state. As indicated above, violation of some statutes could result in the filing of criminal charges against a lawyer. Violation of some statutes, rules or regulations could result in the filing of injunctive or contempt proceedings against a lawyer. The UPL statutes, rules and regulations of each of the listed states can be found under its navigation guide or hyperlink on this page.