States Should Permanently Change Legal Practice Rules Due To COVID-19

Old school is so old school.

This website has already discussed how COVID-19 has had a lasting impact on how many attorneys and law firms do business. Indeed, attorneys have had to get used to working from home, remote conferences, and other methods of practicing law because of the pandemic. States have also had to change some of their legal practice requirements because of COVID-19. Moreover, the ongoing pandemic has demonstrated that the profession should not be tethered to traditional notions about practicing law. All told, based on the experience of contending with COVID-19, states should permanently change several legal practice requirements.

Live CLE Courses

Most attorneys need to take continuing legal education courses in order to maintain their law licenses. Although states have different rules about how lawyers can earn CLE credits, some states, such as New Jersey (where I practice), require that lawyers attend a certain number of CLE courses in person. It makes sense that states want lawyers to meet up with other attorneys in order to satisfy their CLE credits. Indeed, many lawyers take live CLE credits at conferences, events, and other in-person occasions that they may not otherwise attend if CLE credits were not offered. Further, attending CLE courses in person may ensure that lawyers pay more attention to the instructors and meet other members of the bar.

However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is preventing many attorneys from attending in-person events. As a result, many states have relaxed their in-person CLE requirements and are allowing lawyers to fulfill their CLE requirements virtually. Even after the pandemic subsides, states should consider permanently eliminating in-person CLE requirements. If attorneys wish to attend in-person events, they should be able to do so without the incentive of live CLE credits, and online CLE courses are often cheaper and easier to take. Although some industries rely on in-person CLE credits, states should permanently relax CLE requirements so that all credits can be earned through virtual means.

Bona Fide Office Requirements

Many states still have a requirement that attorneys maintain a physical office in the state in which they practice law. The theory behind this requirement is that counsel should have a place at which lawyers can be served with papers for cases with which they are involved. In addition, states may require attorneys to have an office so that there is a place where clients can meet their counsel, where files are maintained, and where phones are answered. Some states, such as New Jersey, have relaxed their bona fide office requirements in recent years, but other states, such as New York, still require that out-of-state lawyers maintain a bona fide office within the state.

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However, having a physical office is so twentieth century! Many lawyers may wish to simply maintain a virtual office, where they can pick up mail and meet clients at a fraction of the cost of a traditional office. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us all that a physical office is not needed to practice law. Indeed, many attorneys have not visited their offices in months, and many firms have been able to maintain operations remotely with very few interruptions. Now that nearly all lawyers are comfortable with remote conferencing apps, cloud-based firm management applications, and the experience of practicing law during the COVID-19 pandemic, states should seriously consider eliminating bona fide office requirements.

Electronic Filings And Registrations

As many attorneys know from firsthand experience, courts and state bar authorities have been somewhat slow to adopt online filing and registration systems. For instance, New York requires that lawyers file retainer and closing statements for certain types of contingency cases, and up until last month, attorneys needed to file such statements in person or through the mail. If attorneys filed the statements through the mail, they needed to include a self-addressed postcard so that it could be stamped and returned to the lawyer as proof that the statement had been filed. This was a very old-school way of doing business! In addition, some states still require that bar candidates complete bar applications and submit supporting materials through the mail.

Over the past several months, states have begun to adopt electronic filing and registration platforms even though these applications did not exist several months ago. For instance, lawyers in New York can now file retainer and closing statements electronically, which lets them save the hassle of providing a self-addressed and stamped envelope for proof of filing. In addition, many states have expanded online registration opportunities for bar candidates. Furthermore, states have launched e-filing systems for courts that required paper filings just several months ago. Hopefully, states will keep all of these electronic filing and registration systems after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, since these applications are often more efficient and cost-effective for attorneys and government authorities.

In the end, there are still some legal practice requirements that states have been slow to change and are unnecessary burdens for lawyers. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that some parts of the legal profession can change to promote efficiency and remote operations. Hopefully, the ongoing pandemic incentivizes the legal profession to permanently forgo traditional practices in favor of more efficient and cost-effective methods of practicing law.

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Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.