Panel to discuss whether current UPL rules for lawyers continue to make sense

With regulatory innovation efforts spreading throughout the country, the American Bar Association will join two national partners on Tuesday, October 20, in the third Redesigning Legal Speaker Series to explore whether the current ABA Model Rule 5.5, which addresses the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) by lawyers, continues to serve its intended purpose.

“Redesigning Legal: Lawyer UPL—Has It Jumped the Shark?” will take place online from 1 to 2 p.m. on Oct. 20.

In the past, protecting the public has been the stated justification for strict jurisdictional licensing and regulation of lawyers. Yet, in the country’s multi-jurisdictional and increasingly remote practice environment, lawyers who innovate and their clients may find themselves more frequently put in the crosshairs of the existing regulatory framework. In addition, boundaries set by current Model Rule 5.5 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct on permissible multijurisdictional practice has implications for access to legal services in, for example, legal deserts – geographic areas where there are few, if any lawyers.

In the upcoming program, panelists will explore whether it is time for another evolution of Model Rule 5.5 . The participants are:

• Mike Kennedy, Vermont Bar Counsel since 2012. Kennedy administers Vermont’s Bar Assistance Program, which focuses on proactive guidance on issues related to the Rules of Professional Conduct and law office management. He is a former president of the Vermont Bar Association and the current chair of the Vermont Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee.

• Andrew Perlman, Suffolk University Law School dean since 2015. Perlman has served as the chief reporter for the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20, which was responsible for updating the Model Rules of Professional Conduct in the fact of globalization and changes in technology. He subsequently served as the vice chair of the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services and the inaugural chair of the governing council of the ABA Center for Innovation.

• Wendy Muchman, the Harry B. Reese Professor of Practice at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Muchman has primarily taught classes in professional responsibility, including the standard ABA-required course in legal ethics. Along with another lecturer, she developed and currently teaches several innovative ethics courses.

• Lynda Shely, owner/attorney of the Shely Firm PC, Scottsdale, Arizona. Shely provides ethics advice to more than 1,700 law firms in Arizona and the District of Columbia and assists lawyers in responding to initial bar charges, performs law office risk management reviews and trains law firm staff in ethics requirements. She is a past president of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers and current chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

Launched in June, the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series features legal industry leaders and experts who offer a variety of perspectives and break down common assumptions and misunderstandings, as well as provide information on the nature and scope of the access to justice challenges and barriers to sustainable legal access. Other series co-sponsors are the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver (IAALS) and Legal Hackers, in addition to support from three ABA entities: the Center for Innovation, Center for Professional Responsibility and the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services.

Registration for the Oct. online program is free but required in advance by visiting https://iaals.du.edu/events/redesigning-legal-lawyer-upl-has-it-jumped-shark.