No, becoming licensed in one state does not entitle a lawyer to practice in another state. Many states do have what is known as reciprocity, which means that after a lawyer has practiced for a period of time (usually five years), he or she can apply to practice in another state without taking another bar exam. The lawyer must receive approval from the new state’s highest court to receive admission.
A key exception in most states is that lawyers can apply for what is known as pro hac vice status, which is Latin for “this one occasion or event.” This means that a lawyer is applying to practice in a different state for one case.
- Do all states require individuals to take a bar exam to practice law?
- What is tested on the bar exam?
- How many bar exams are there?
- What can disqualify a person from sitting for a bar exam?
- If a person passes the bar exam, is he or she automatically entitled to practice law?
- Can all law school graduates take the bar exam?
- What is the American Bar Association?
- What does it take to become a lawyer?
- Do many states have family courts?
- What is the relationship between state high courts and state constitutions?
- Are all state court systems based on the three-tiered model of trial court, intermediate appellate court, and final appellate court?
- Do all state high courts have the same number of justices or judges?
- Are all state high courts called supreme courts?
- Which states do not have elections for any type of judges?
- How are state court judges picked?
- How are state court systems established?
- Do courts always follow their past decisions?
- Is there a difference between mandatory authority and persuasive authority?
- What opinions have precedential value?
- If the majority opinion becomes the law of the land, are concurring and dissenting opinions important?
