News

Order Allows Lawyers Displaced by Hurricane Katrina to Continue to Provide Legal Services to Citizens

September 19, 2005

HARRISBURG, Sept. 19, 2005 — The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania today issued an order that temporarily modifies the circumstances under which out-of-state attorneys impacted by Hurricane Katrina can practice law in the Commonwealth. The order authorizes eligible licensed attorneys from Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina to conduct their practice in Pennsylvania for up to nine months. The order further states that the attorneys’ practice is limited to furnishing legal services to their clients about matters arising in the state where they are licensed. The order permits eligible displaced attorneys to practice law from a location in Pennsylvania as if the attorney were located in the state where the attorney is licensed. “The devastation to life, property and records brought on by Hurricane Katrina has forced many courts at the federal, state and local levels — and the thousands of attorneys who practice in them — to relocate,” Chief Justice Cappy said. “This court order is designed to help legal practitioners use our Commonwealth as a staging area to assist Katrina’s many victims.” Displaced attorneys desiring to practice in the Commonwealth must submit an affidavit to the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, declaring good standing in their home state and the disruption of their practice due to Hurricane Katrina. The order issued today does not restrict, limit or change Pennsylvania Court Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5, which governs multi-jurisdictional practice of law. For more information, contact the Board of Law Examiners at: (717) 795-7270. A copy of the court’s order can be viewed on the Pennsylvania Judiciary Web site at: www.courts.state.pa.us