Category: Multijurisdictional Practice

On January 17, Minnesota amended its practice rules to permit “house counsel” registered under Rule 10 and “temporary house counsel” registered under Rule 9 to provide pro bono legal services to pro bono clients referred to the lawyer through an approved legal services provider. Minnesota, like most other states, permits in-house counsel licensed and in good standing in another jurisdiction to work for their employer in Minnesota. Prior to the rule change, Minnesota did not allow those lawyers to also provide pro bono services. In revising its practice rules, the state joins others, like Connecticut and Iowa, that have recently

This summer, Connecticut became the latest jurisdiction to amend its practice rules to permit authorized in-house counsel to provide pro bono legal services.  The judges of the Connecticut Superior Court adopted the revisions on June 15, which become effective January 1, 2013. Like many states, Connecticut previously had no rule allowing pro bono legal services to be provided by in-house attorneys licensed in other jurisdictions but authorized to work for a legal department in the state.  Although there are nearly 900 authorized in-house counsel in Connecticut, this gap in the rules might have remained.  However, the current crisis in access

The PBEye was delighted to see  that, effective April 15, 2011, the Virginia Supreme Court approved an amendment to its rules, removing restrictions that limited certified in-house counsel’s ability to provide pro bono work to deserving and needy clients in Virginia.  Now, certified in-house attorneys may provide pro bono service, subject only to the conditions that apply to all Virginia attorneys – the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct.  This change empowers the more than 800 certified in-house attorneys in Virginia to provide desperately needed assistance to low-income individuals and organizations.  We hope this amendment will serve as an example for other