Pennsylvania Lawyers Can Work Remotely Where Not Licensed

Pennsylvania-barred lawyers practicing in another jurisdiction can do so without worrying about ethical repercussions in Pennsylvania, a joint advisory opinion by the state and Philadelphia bars said.

The one caveat is that “the other state does not treat such remote practice as the unauthorized practice of law,” said the March 2 opinion by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s ethics committee and the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Guidance Committee.

The two bar groups are the first to formally adopt the American Bar Association’s December opinion, which eased Model Rule 5.5 that has long restricted where lawyers can practice.

Technological advances and the ...