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Comment by tibbydudeza | Hacker News Reader

How does it work in the US ?.

Is a Texas qualified lawyer able to practice in another state with different laws - do you need to do a conversion course to get the proper accreditation since stuff like commercial law vary ?.

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The lawyer would need to become a member of the other state's bar association. How to do so varies widely depending on existing state bar memberships and qualification criteria for the new membership; some states allow membership pretty much automatically if you have enough years of practice, and others may require state-specific exams or training.

Most (all?) states will also offer pro hac vice, meaning the lawyer can temporarily practice in that case only, typically after applying by way of motion, paying a fee (usually a couple hundred dollars or so) and having an associated local counsel, who is supposed to advise on local legal matters and oversee the foreign attorney (but often does neither).

Courts in many states will start rejecting pro hac requests as they approach the line of abuse, so the attorney will need to become a member of the state's bar.

While pro hac, the attorney generally will have at least the same ethical and competency obligations as any attorney regularly admitted to that state's bar.

1. get a waiver, usually after some time of practice (e.g. for the DC bar it's 3 years: https://admissions.dcappeals.gov/appinfo.action?id=200)

2. apply for reciprocity if that's an option

3. I understand that you can transfer between states with the same bar exam (mostly the so-called UBE states) as long as you pass the target states' admission score and any other qualification they require

4. pass the bar exam in each state

"Bar Reciprocity" or "Reciprocal Admission" lets a lawyer do something like move to a different state.

Example: Maine https://www.mainebar.org/page/ReciprocalAdmission

Texas State Bar is still a thing. This means that it has split from the American Bar Association, but the legal system of Texas is still part of the US Legal system.

> Texas State Bar is still a thing. This means that it has split from the American Bar Association, but the legal system of Texas is still part of the US Legal system.

Lawyer here, member of Texas and California bars. There seems to be a misunderstanding here:

1. A state bar is what a lawyer has to belong to in order to practice regularly in that state (with some exceptions, e.g., for federal-court practice). Example: To practice regularly in California, a lawyer must be a member of the State Bar of California. That normally requires passing a bar exam or (in some states if you're an experienced lawyer), getting in by "reciprocity."

AFAIK, every state bar is separately regulated by the highest court of the state (and, sometimes, by state statute). Example: The State Bar of Texas is subject to regulations promulgated by the Supreme Court of Texas.

2. In contrast, The ABA is a purely-voluntary private association of lawyers. A lawyer doesn't have to belong to the ABA in order to be a lawyer or practice law.

3. IIRC, the ABA's governing body includes liaisons from state bars. But AFAIK, there's never been any official governing connection between the ABA and any state bar.

4. The ABA's law-school accreditation standards [0] are a way for states to adopt uniform standards, thus avoiding the cost of developing individual standards (and of complying with a variety of standards). Those ABA standards are roughly analogous to national model building codes for plumbing, etc. — they're adopted by various jurisdictions but have little or no legal standing in any given jurisdiction unless adopted.

[0] https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/accredita...

Lawyers are licensed in each state. Typically, only lawyers licensed in a state can practice law in the state. What exactly that means is fuzzy. Generally you need to be licensed in a state to appear in court in that state. Though for federal courts you can appear on a temporary basis in another state, usually if you’re working with another lawyer who is licensed in that state. But lawyers in one state typically can advise a client in that state about laws in another state—usually when the client’s activity is nationwide.

For clients with interstate business, they usually have a team of lawyers. A lawsuit being heard in Minnesota state court may primarily be handled by a big national firm with lawyers licensed in New York, with local lawyers licensed in Minnesota to handle filings and court appearances.

Accreditation and licensing are two very different things.

Today I learned that, in UK parlance, “Texas qualified” means “received a law degree in Texas” and not “Texas licensed.” Thanks for the clarification.

Afaik, you need to be licensed on each state you want to practice, and take the bar exam for that state.

For example, the LegalEagle youtuber always says he is licensed to practice law in specific states in his videos, here is his georgetown law profile with the states where he is allowed to practice:

https://www.law.georgetown.edu/faculty/devin-j-stone/

California Maryland New York Virginia District of Columbia (D.C.)

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