The New York Court of Appeals amended the rules this week for in-house counsel to register with the state by clarifying there is no residency requirement and by also allowing attorneys who only work part-time in the state to register.

The amendment, which also authorizes a 90-day period to allow for in-house attorneys to register without penalty for not doing so previously, will become effective April 15.

Richard Maltz, counsel to the professional responsibility group at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz in New York, said in an interview with Corporate Counsel that in 2015 the New York Court of Appeals allowed for out-of-state in-house counsel to register in New York. However, it only gave attorneys 30 days after the beginning of their employment to do so and was only applicable to attorneys who worked in New York full time.

"Another problem was that lawyers were coming into New York three-quarters of the time but did not qualify to register under the rule," Maltz explained.

Maltz said he was on the New York City Bar Association subcommittee and helped recommend the rule changes. He said another member of the subcommittee recommended rule changes for foreign attorneys. The New York Court of Appeals now allows for foreign attorneys working in-house in New York to show they are in good standing by an affidavit if their "home jurisdiction is unable to provide proof of good standing because of a lack of structure of legal oversight of in-house counsel in that jurisdiction."

Maltz noted that those who register as in-house counsel may only act to advise their employer and are not permitted to practice law in New York as an attorney who is admitted to the New York State Bar.

Joshua Hale Abramson and Njeri Sarah Chasseau, co-chairs of the New York County Lawyers Association In-House/Outside Counsel Committee, said in a joint statement to Corporate Counsel the changes are "largely positive."

"The revisions bring us in line with the requirements in states like California and could prove beneficial for smaller businesses for whom the often high cost of retaining permanent in-house counsel is prohibitive," Abramson and Chasseau said.

A representative from the New York State Bar Association was not immediately available to comment Wednesday.

The majority of states have rules governing how in-house counsel should register with the state, according to the American Bar Association.