In OPINION 24-20 (“Teleworking from Home and the COVID-19 Pandemic”),the D.C. Court of Appeals Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law (DC UPL Committee) decided that out-of-state lawyers can practice while physically present there due to COVID19.
The DC UPL Committee opined that “persons who are not District of Columbia bar members may practice law from personal residences or other locations within the boundaries of the District of Columbia under Rule 49(c)(13) (“Incidental and Temporary Practice”)” in certain circumstances.
To remind something that is often forgotten by lawyers ”
A lawyer is engaged in the practice of law in the District of Columbia when the lawyer provides legal advice from an office or location within the District. That is true if the lawyer practices in a residence or in a commercial building, if all of the lawyer’s clients are located in other jurisdictions, if the lawyer provides legal advice only by telephone, letter, email, or other means, if the lawyer provides legal advice only concerning the laws of jurisdictions other than the District of Columbia, or if the lawyer informs the client that the lawyer is not authorized to practice law in the District of Columbia and does not provide advice about District of Columbia law.
Comment, D.C. Ct. App. R. 49(b)(3).
In light if Covid19, the DC UPL Committee decided that
an attorney who is not a member of the District of Columbia bar may practice law from the attorney’s residence in the District of Columbia under the “incidental and temporary practice” exception of Rule 49(c)(13) if the attorney (1) is practicing from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) maintains a law office in a jurisdiction where the attorney is admitted to practice; (3) avoids using a District of Columbia address in any business document or otherwise holding out as authorized to practice law in the District of Columbia, and (4) does not regularly conduct in-person meetings with clients or third parties in the District of Columbia.
For more information, Francesca Giannoni-Crystal