The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates recently approved a number of amendments to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, including several allowing the limited practice of law by foreign lawyers serving as in-house counsel in the United States. Resolution 107A requires that foreign lawyers be members in good standing “of a recognized legal profession in a foreign jurisdiction,” and when they provide advice about U.S. or state law, they must base that advice on the “advice of a lawyer licensed and authorized by the jurisdiction to provide it.”
Resolution 107B further restricts a foreign in-house lawyer’s scope of practice and adds requirements such as the payment of bar dues, payment into a client protection fund, the fulfillment of continuing legal education requirements, and notice to disciplinary counsel. Resolution 107C provides guidance to courts on the pro hac vice admission of foreign attorneys. See ABANow, February 11, 2013.
