Opinion #229. Bar Admission Rule 11 candidate employed by a Maine law firm.

Issued by the Professional Ethics Commission

Date Issued: August 31, 2026

Maine Professional Ethics Commission Formal Opinion #229: August 2026

The Professional Ethics Commission was presented with a question regarding the application of Maine Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5(c) with respect to an attorney employed by a law firm under the following circumstances: An attorney licensed and in good standing before the bar of another state who has been hired by a firm in Maine, moved to Maine, is working for that firm, and has applied for admission to the Maine Bar by motion pursuant to Bar Admission Rule 11, but has not yet been admitted. This opinion examines this specific question in light of M.R. Prof. Conduct 5.5(c), its relationship to ABA Model Rule 5.5(c), in the context of guidance from Maine Professional Ethics Opinion No. 189 (2005).

Rules, Statutes and Authorities

  • ABA Model Rule 5.5(c)
  • ABA Comm'n on Multijurisdictional Prac., Rept. 201B
  • M. Bar Admission R. 11
  • Maine Professional Ethics Opinion 189
  • M.R. Civ. P. 89(b)
  • M.R. Prof. Conduct 5.5(c) and (d)

  • 4 M.R.S. 802
  • 4 M.R.S. 805-A
  • 4 M.R.S. 807

Discussion

I. Maine Statute and the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct Prohibit the Unauthorized Practice of Law.

By statute and rule, Maine prohibits the "unauthorized practice of law."1 4 M.R.S. 807, M.R. Prof. Conduct 5.5. Attorneys from other jurisdictions may be admitted on motion to try cases in Maine pursuant to 4 M.R.S. 802,2 but Section 802 otherwise prohibits practice in this State without a Maine Board of Bar Examiners' certificate of qualification pursuant to 4 M.R.S. 805-A.3

Provided a lawyer is a member of another jurisdiction's bar in good standing, Maine Rules of Professional Conduct 5.5(c) and (d) prescribe the following limitations upon the lawyer's right to practice in Maine prior to his or her admission to the Maine Bar:

(c) A lawyer admitted in another United States jurisdiction, and not disbarred or suspended from practice in any jurisdiction, may provide legal services that arise out of or are reasonably related to the representation of an existing client on a temporary basis in this jurisdiction that:
(1) are undertaken in association with a lawyer who is admitted to practice in this jurisdiction and who actively participates in the matter;
(2) are in or reasonably related to a pending or potential proceeding before a tribunal in this or another jurisdiction, if the lawyer, or a person the lawyer is assisting, is authorized by law or order to appear in such proceeding or reasonably expects to be so authorized;

1Although the Rules of Professional Conduct and Maine Statute do not define the unauthorized practice of law, the Maine Law Court has provided examples of activities that constitute the practice of law. See Maine Professional Ethics Opinion No. 189 n.2 (2005).

2See also M.R. Civ. P. 89(b) (procedure for admission of a visiting lawyer by motion in civil matters).

3An attorney must also become licensed and receive a bar number through registration with the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, the entity charged with regulating all attorneys present in Maine. See M. Bar R. 4 and 10(a).

(3) are in or reasonably related to a pending or potential arbitration, mediation, or other alternative dispute resolution proceeding in this or another jurisdiction, if the services arise out of or are reasonably related to the lawyers practice in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice and are not services for which the forum requires pro hac vice admission; or
(4) are not within paragraphs (c)(2) or (c)(3) and arise out of or are reasonably related to the lawyer's practice in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice.
(d) A lawyer admitted in another United States jurisdiction, and not disbarred or suspended from practice in any jurisdiction, may provide legal services in this jurisdiction that:
(1) are provided to the lawyers employer or its organizational affiliates and are not services for which the forum requires pro hac vice admission; or
(2) are services that the lawyer is authorized to provide by federal law or other law of this jurisdiction.

*M.R. Prof. Conduct R.* 5.5(c) and (d) (2023) (emphasis added).


II. Maine's Rule 5.5(c) differs from the ABA Model Rule.

Maine's Rule 5.5(c) notably differs from ABA Model Rule 5.5(c). The contrasting language creates a substantive difference as Maine Rule 5.5(c) states that a lawyer may provide legal services "that arise out of or are reasonably related to the representation of an existing client" in its general introductory clause. ABA Model Rule 5.5(c) does not contain the existing client language. See Model Rules of Pro. Conduct 5.5(c) (A.B.A. 2020). Unlike Maine, the majority of other jurisdictions have adopted the Model Rule verbatim. Moreover, the Maine rule's inclusion of the existing client language is unique among jurisdictions that have adopted ABA Model Rule 5.5, whether adopted verbatim or with some modification.

The ABA Commission on Multijurisdictional Practice, responsible for drafting Model Rule 5.5(c), reported that the model language was intended in part to allow "a lawyer to provide legal services on a temporary basis in an office of the lawyer's firm outside of the lawyer's home state, as long as the lawyer is in a genuine co-counsel relationship with a lawyer of the firm who is licensed in the jurisdiction."4 The report further noted that the rule might apply to a lawyer who is "brought into the office with the expectation that the lawyer will obtain admission to that state's bar, but the admissions process may take several months or longer to achieve."5


III. Maines Rule 5.5(c) is More Restrictive than the ABA Model Rule.

As Maine adopted a version of Rule 5.5(c) containing a phrase that departs from the ABA Model, that departure must be presumed to be intentional and meaningful.6 The addition of the "existing client" phrase indicates that temporary practice in Maine must relate to a client the lawyer already represents in another jurisdiction where the lawyer is properly admitted. That interpretation is supported by Rule 5.5's exclusive focus, in addressing unauthorized practice and multijurisdictional practice, on the individual lawyer whose conduct is being examined.

4 See ABA Comm'n on Multijurisdictional Prac., Rept. 201B at n. 4.

5 Id.

6 The 2009 Reporters Notes that follow Rule 5.5 state in part: "The Task Force recommended inclusion, however, of the limitation that a lawyer not licensed in Maine may only provide legal services on a temporary basis when such services have a connection to the representation of an existing client."

Maine Professional Ethics Commission Opinion No. 189, which predates the current Maine Rules of Professional Conduct, addresses related concepts of unauthorized practice, and highlights the importance of the jurisdiction in which a lawyer's clients or matters are based, compared to the lawyer's own location. See Me. Prof. Ethics Commn, Op. No. 189 (Nov. 15, 2005). Opinion No. 189 provides that a lawyer licensed in another jurisdiction but residing in Maine, while working exclusively for out-of-state clients on out-of-state matters, does not engage in unauthorized practice. Furthermore, in contrast a lawyer not licensed in Maine, with an office in Maine, who holds themselves out as available to serve Maine clients and suggests that they are licensed in Maine, does engage in unauthorized practice of law, id., and is subject to the regulatory authority of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and the Board of Overseers of the Bar.

Reading Rule 5.5(c) in conjunction with Ethics Opinion 189, we conclude that the phrase "existing client" means a client the lawyer already represents in a jurisdiction where the lawyer is admitted to practice, and that particular existing representation forms the basis for temporary legal services performed in Maine. Rule 5.5(c) may not be reasonably interpreted to allow a lawyer unlicensed in Maine to accept new clients for Maine matters merely because the lawyer intends to keep the work "temporary."

Comments to Rule 5.5 support a narrow interpretation of Rule 5.5(c):

  • Comment 5 notes that "[w]ith the exception of paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2), this Rule does not authorize a lawyer to establish an office or other systematic and continuous presence in this jurisdiction [for the practice of law] without being admitted to practice generally here." See also Comment 4.
  • Comment 10 addresses the drafters' intent that a lawyer admitted elsewhere may engage in conduct "in anticipation of a proceeding or hearing in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is authorized to practice law or in which the lawyer reasonably expects to be admitted pro hac vice." The comment continues, "[s]imilarly, a lawyer admitted only in another jurisdiction may engage in conduct temporarily in this jurisdiction in connection with pending litigation in another jurisdiction in which the lawyer is or reasonably expects to be authorized to appear."
  • Comment 13 states that Rule 5.5(c)(4) "permits a lawyer admitted in another jurisdiction to provide certain legal services on a temporary basis in this jurisdiction that arise out of or are reasonably related to the lawyer's practice in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted but are not within paragraphs (c)(2) or (c)(3)."
  • Comment 14 reaffirms the required connection between the legal services and a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted and proceeds to enumerate possible circumstances demonstrating that connection.

Finally, Maine Bar Admission Rule 11C carves out a limited public service exception to the Rule 5.5(c) restrictions for an attorney licensed and in good standing in another state "who either becomes employed by the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services or becomes employed by or engages in pro bono services as a volunteer with a legal services organization based in this State" that meets certain eligibility criteria. Me. Bar Admission R. 11C.

Bar Admission Rule 11C expressly does not extend the scope of Rule 5.5(c) to temporary work on behalf of law firms or other private employers. By terminating any previously granted temporary practice authority immediately upon the cessation of public service employment, Rule 11C is consistent with the restrictive interpretation of Rule 5.5(c) expressed above.

Conclusion

The plain language of Maine Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5(c)[7], which differs materially from ABA Model Rule 5.5(c), allows a lawyer in good standing and licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction to practice temporarily in Maine if:

  1. The Maine-related services arise out of or reasonably relate to representing the attorney's existing client from the original jurisdiction; and

  2. The work fits into one of the specific situations described in Rule 5.5(c)(2)- (3), or

  3. Are not within the scope of Rule 5.5(c) (2) or (3) but arise out of or are reasonably related to the lawyer's practice for the lawyer's existing client in the jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted, as described in Rule 5.5(c)(4).


[6] Me. Bar Admission R. 11C.

[7] As noted above, a lawyer is also permitted to practice in Maine pursuant to Rule 5.5(d) along with the limited public service exception set forth in Bar Admission Rule 11C.

Enduring Ethics Opinion

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