§ 91.101. Law-related activities of formerly admitted attorneys.
(a) General rule. A formerly admitted attorney may not engage in any form of law-related activities in this Commonwealth except in accordance with the requirements of this section.
(b) Supervision. Enforcement Rule 217(j)(1) provides that all law-related activities of the formerly admitted attorney shall be conducted under the supervision of a member in good standing of the Bar of this Commonwealth who shall be responsible for ensuring that the formerly admitted attorney complies with the requirements of this section. If the formerly admitted attorney is engaged by a law firm or other organization providing legal services, whether by employment or other relationship, an attorney of the firm or organization shall be designated by the firm or organization as the supervising attorney for purposes of this subsection.
(c) Permissible activities. Enforcement Rule 217(j)(2) provides that, for purposes of this section, the only law-related activities that may be conducted by a formerly admitted attorney are the following:
(1) legal work of a preparatory nature, such as legal research, assembly of data and other necessary information, and drafting of transactional documents, pleadings, briefs, and other similar documents;
(2) direct communication with the client or third parties to the extent permitted by subsection (d); and
(3) accompanying a member in good standing of the Bar of this Commonwealth to a deposition or other discovery matter or to a meeting regarding a matter that is not currently in litigation, for the limited purpose of providing clerical assistance to the member in good standing who appears as the representative of the client.
(d) Communications with clients. Enforcement Rule 217(j)(3) provides that a formerly admitted attorney may have direct communication with a client or third party regarding a matter being handled by the attorney, organization or firm for which the formerly admitted attorney works only if the communication is limited to ministerial matters such as scheduling, billing, updates, confirmation of receipt or sending of correspondence and messages. The formerly admitted attorney shall clearly indicate in any such communication that he or she is a legal assistant and identify the supervising attorney.
(e) Prohibited activities. Enforcement Rule 217(j)(4) provides that, without limiting the other restrictions in this section, a formerly admitted attorney is specifically prohibited from engaging in any of the following activities:
(1) performing any law-related activity for a law firm, organization or lawyer if the formerly admitted attorney was associated with that law firm, organization or lawyer on or after the date on which the acts which resulted in the disbarment, suspension or temporary suspension occurred, through and including the effective date of disbarment, suspension or temporary suspension;
(2) performing any law-related services from an office that is not staffed by a supervising attorney on a full-time basis;
(3) performing any law-related services for any client who in the past was represented by the formerly admitted attorney;
(4) representing himself or herself as a lawyer or person of similar status;
(5) having any contact with clients either in person, by telephone, or in writing, except as provided in subsection (d);
(6) rendering legal consultation or advice to a client;
(7) appearing on behalf of a client in any hearing or proceeding or before any judicial officer, arbitrator, mediator, court, public agency, referee, magistrate, hearing officer or any other adjudicative person or body;
(8) appearing as a representative of the client at a deposition or other discovery matter;
(9) negotiating or transacting any matter for or on behalf of a client with third parties or having any contact with third parties regarding such a negotiation or transaction; and
(10) receiving, disbursing or otherwise handling client funds.
(f) Notice to Board. Enforcement Rule 217(j)(5) provides that the supervising attorney and the formerly admitted attorney shall file with the Board a notice of engagement, identifying the supervising attorney and certifying that the formerly admitted attorney’s activities will be monitored for compliance with this section. The supervising attorney and the formerly admitted attorney shall file a notice with the Board immediately upon the termination of the engagement between the formerly admitted attorney and the supervising attorney.
(g) Jurisdiction over supervising attorney. Enforcement Rule 217(j)(6) provides that the supervising attorney shall be subject to disciplinary action for any failure by either the formerly admitted attorney or the supervising attorney to comply with the provisions of this section.
Official Note
This section limits and regulates the law-related activities performed by formerly admitted attorneys regardless of whether those formerly admitted attorneys are engaged as employees, independent contractors or in any other capacity. This section requires that a notice be filed with the Board when any law-related activities are performed by a formerly admitted attorney and when the engagement is terminated. This section is addressed only to the special circumstance of formerly admitted attorneys engaging in law-related activities and should not be read more broadly to define the permissible activities that may be conducted by a paralegal, law clerk, investigator, etc. who is not a formerly admitted attorney. This section is also not intended to establish a standard for what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. Finally, this section is not intended to prohibit a formerly admitted attorney from performing services that are not unique to law offices, such as physical plant or equipment maintenance, courier or delivery services, catering, typing or transcription or other similar general office support activities.
Source The provisions of this § 91.100 adopted July 13, 2001, effective July 14, 2001, 31 Pa.B. 3731; renumbered as § 91.101 January 30, 2015, effective March 2, 2015, 45 Pa.B. 544; amended December 15, 2023, effective 30 days after publication, 53 Pa.B. 7704. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (400488) to (400489) and (376275) to (376276).
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