I am a Pennsylvania lawyer, but because of my wife’s job change, I live in another state where she works. I still have my Pennsylvania practice. Mostly, I do it by Zoom, telephone, fax and email. If I have to appear in court, I then come back and do so. Is there anything illegal about that?
The question is an interesting one. The question is, can you practice law in a jurisdiction when your law office is not located there. Can you have an office where you are not licensed to practice in another jurisdiction? From a practical standpoint, this has been allowed, at least for Pennsylvania lawyers. This writer has had lawyers who have moved to other states, but still maintain a portion of their Pennsylvania practice using an office in another state. From those other states such as California, the lawyers represent clients in Pennsylvania, file pleadings, briefs, appear at Zoom-related hearings, and at times in-person hearings. To this writer’s knowledge, none of that has been criticized or resulted in any professional discipline. Obviously, if a lawyer misled clients as to where their actual physical location is, that might be a different situation.
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