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Ethics FAQs for Practitioners in Response to Hurricane Katrina
Office of Enrollment and Discipline, United States Patent and Trademark Office
I am a registered patent practitioner and have temporarily moved my practice out of state. May I continue to prepare and prosecute patent applications for my clients?
Yes. A practitioner registered to practice before the Office in good standing may continue to prepare and prosecute patent applications and otherwise represent clients in other patent matters before the Office, regardless of where the practitioner is located. The standing of a registered practitioner to practice in patent matters is not affected by state bar rules.
I have temporarily moved my practice out of state and intend to set up my own office. May I temporarily continue to provide my clients with representation in trademark matters, or provide my clients with patent law related services such as assignments, licenses and other agreements?
While USPTO statutes and regulations preempt state licensing requirements
with respect to the practice of patent law before the Office, other practice
outside the state where a practitioner is licensed may be prohibited by
state law. Lawyers attempting to provide legal services outside the state
where they are licensed to practice law should confirm with the relevant
regulatory authority that their proposed activity does not violate the
law of the host jurisdiction. Many states have multijurisdictional practice
rules that may permit an attorney to practice temporarily in a state in
which he or she is not licensed. Some states have issued orders waiving
rules to help lawyers evacuated because of the Katrina hurricane. We have
included links to two comprehensive sites that we are aware of at this
time.
ABA's Center for Professional Responsibility: http://www.abanet.org/cpr/KatrinaServices.html ABA's Katrina Web site: http://www.abanet.org/katrina/
I have offered space in my office to out-of-state lawyers displaced by the storm. What ethical considerations should I be aware of?
When lawyers who are not members of the same firm share office space, they must implement measures to protect client confidences and secrets. If a lawyer who is not associated with your firm will have access to your computers, file space, etc., you must develop systems to restrict access to confidential client information.
I have hired an out-of-state practitioner to work in my office until she can return to her practice in Louisiana. What work can she handle?
A registered practitioner may continue to represent clients before the office in patent matters. Whether the practitioner may practice in other areas is primarily a question of state laws. Be aware that a state’s multijurisdictional practice of law rule may permit an out-of-state lawyer to practice temporarily, but not to establish a continuous presence.
May I add an out-of-state practitioner's name to my letterhead temporarily?
The USPTO’s rules do not prohibit adding a practitioner’s name to a firm’s letterhead, so long as the letterhead does not falsely imply that the individual is an attorney or a registered practitioner. The host state’s rules will likely require that the letterhead indicate that the attorney is not authorized to practice in the state, and additional state restrictions or prohibitions may apply.
Ethical and Practical Considerations in Helping Evacuated Practitioners Sharing space with practitioners displaced by Hurricane Katrina is an excellent way to help protect the interests of the clients of the displaced practitioners. It can, however, present challenges under the USPTO’s rules and applicable state regulations. While displaced practitioners and the law firms with whom they share space are responsible for complying with all applicable ethics rules, the following list of suggestions may provide a starting point for analyzing and dealing with potential issues.
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