LEO Num

Topics

Summary

Date

1896

41-Non-Virginia Lawyers

Following several other states, "Virginia has no interest in restricting the practice of a lawyer whose only connection to Virginia is a physical location within the state."; Thus, non-Virginia lawyers may practice systematically and continuously "for any length of time," "may have a public presence in Virginia and [are] not required to be 'invisible' within the state" — as long as their work "involves the practice of the law of the [non-Virginia] lawyer's licensing jurisdiction or exclusively federal law that does not require Virginia licensure." Such lawyers must disclose that they are not licensed to practice in Virginia.

1/11/2022

ABA-500

28-Law Firm Staff

31-Protecting and Disclosing Confidences and Secrets

Lawyers must comply with their Rule 1.1 competence and Rule 1.4 communication duties even "when a client's ability to receive information from or convey information to a lawyer is impeded because the lawyer and the client do not share a common language, or when a client is a person with a non-cognitive physical condition, such as a hearing, speech, or vision disability." Lawyers in that situation: (1) must select a qualified translator or interpreter (taking "particular care" if relying on the client's relatives, given the risk of bias or personal interest); (2) exercise their Rule 5.3 supervision responsibilities (emphasizing assistants' confidentiality duty); and (3) keep in mind any social and cultural differences when communicating with clients.

10/6/2021