Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Required qualifications. An applicant may be licensed to
practice in this Commonwealth as a foreign legal consultant, without
examination, if the applicant:
(1) is a
member in good standing of a recognized legal profession in a foreign country,
the members of which are admitted to practice as attorneys or counselors at law
or the equivalent and are subject to effective regulation and discipline by a
duly constituted professional body or a public authority;
(2) for at least five of the seven years
immediately preceding his or her application has been a member in good standing
of such legal profession in the foreign country and has actually been engaged
in the practice of law in the foreign country or elsewhere substantially
involving or relating to the rendering of advice or the provision of legal
services concerning the law of the foreign country;
(3) possesses the good moral character and
general fitness requisite for a member of the bar of this
Commonwealth;
(4) is at least 26
years of age;
(5) intends to
practice as a foreign legal consultant in this Commonwealth and to maintain an
office in this Commonwealth for that purpose; and
(6) has passed the Multistate Professional
Responsibility Examination as required for successful applicants under Rule
203.
(b)
Application. An applicant under this rule shall file with the
Board an application in the form prescribed by the Board, which shall be
accompanied by:
(1) a certificate from the
professional body or public authority in the foreign country having final
jurisdiction over professional discipline, certifying as to the applicant's
admission to practice and the date thereof, and as to his or her good standing
as such attorney or counselor at law or the equivalent;
(2) a letter of recommendation from one of
the members of the executive body of such professional body or public authority
or from one of the judges of the highest law court or court of original
jurisdiction of the foreign country;
(3) a duly authenticated English translation
of the certificate and the letter if, in either case, it is not in
English;
(4) a statement indicating
his or her understanding of, and commitment to observe, the Rules of
Professional Conduct and the Enforcement Rules to the extent applicable to the
legal services authorized under Rule 342;
(5) appropriate evidence of professional
liability insurance, in such amount as the Board may prescribe, to assure his
or her proper professional conduct and responsibility;
(6) such other evidence as to the applicant's
educational and professional qualifications, good moral character and general
fitness, and compliance with the requirements of Subdivision (a) of this Rule
as the Board may require;
(7) a
written statement agreeing to notify the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme
Court of Pennsylvania of any change in the applicant's good standing as a
member of the foreign legal profession referred to in Subdivision (a)(1) of
this Rule and of any final action of the professional body or public authority
referred to in Subdivision (b)(1) of this Rule imposing any disciplinary
censure, suspension, or other sanction upon such person; and
(8) a duly acknowledged instrument, in
writing, setting forth his or her address in this Commonwealth and designating
the Executive Director of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court as his or
her agent upon whom process may be served, with like effect as if served
personally upon him or her, in any action or proceeding thereafter brought
against him or her and arising out of or based upon any legal services rendered
or offered to be rendered by him or her within or to residents of this
Commonwealth, whenever after due diligence service cannot be made upon him or
her at such address or at such new address in this Commonwealth as he or she
shall have furnished in the last registration statement filed by him or her in
accordance with Enforcement Rule 219(d) (relating to periodic assessment of
attorneys), or which has been filed in the Administrative Office by means of a
duly acknowledged supplemental instrument in writing.
(c)
Application fee. An
applicant for a license as a foreign legal consultant under this Rule shall pay
an application fee fixed by the Board.
(d)
Action by the Board. The
Board may, in its discretion, issue to an applicant its certificate
recommending his or her licensure as a foreign legal consultant if the
applicant has met the requirements of this Rule. In considering whether to
issue a certificate recommending an applicant to practice as a foreign legal
consultant under this Rule, the Board may in its discretion take into account
whether a member of the bar of this Commonwealth would have a reasonable and
practical opportunity to establish an office for the giving of legal advice to
clients in the applicant's country of admission. Any member of the bar who is
seeking or has sought to establish an office in that country may request the
Board to consider whether applicants from that country should be denied the
opportunity to be licensed as foreign legal consultants under this Rule, or the
Board may do so sua sponte.
(e)
Motion for licensure. An
applicant shall file a motion for licensure as a foreign legal consultant with
the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court, accompanied by the certificate from the
Board recommending such licensure. If the motion is in proper order, the
Prothonotary shall:
(1) Enter the name of the
applicant upon the docket of persons licensed as foreign legal consultants in
this Commonwealth.
(2) Notify the
Administrative Office of the licensure of the foreign legal
consultant.
(3) If the requisite
fee has been paid therefor, issue an engrossed certificate of licensure under
seal.
(f)
Subsequent admission to bar. In the event that a person
licensed as a foreign legal consultant under this Rule is subsequently admitted
as a member of the bar of this Commonwealth under Subchapter B (relating to
admission to the bar generally), the license granted to such person under this
Rule shall be deemed superseded by the license granted to such person to
practice law as a member of the bar of this Commonwealth.
