A lawyer could practice law in violation of the California statute "although not physically present here by advising a California client on California law in connection with a California legal dispute by telephone, fax, computer or other modern technological means." Id. The Court adopted an amorphous standard in determining whether a lawyer is practicing law in California: "whether the unlicensed lawyer engaged in sufficient activities in the state, or created a continuing relationship with the California client that included legal duties and obligations." Birbrower, 949 P.2d at 5. The California Supreme Court found that the firm violated a statute making the unauthorized practice of law a misdemeanor criminal offense. Birbrower, Montalbano, Condon & Frank, P.C. The Birbrower law firm was located in New York City and represented a California subsidiary of a New York client, which representation involved settling a dispute in California. The case that got everybody talking: Birbrower
The ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5 prohibits the practice of law where lawyers are not licensed, as well as the aiding and abetting of it: a "lawyer shall not: (a) practice law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction or (b) assist a person who is not a member of the bar in the performance of activity that constitutes an unauthorized practice of law."
One of the biggest traps for lawyers is "MJP." MJP stands for multi-jurisdictional practice.