Rule 14 Excerpts

3 Scope of Practice

A person certified to practice as a Foreign Legal Consultant under this Rule may render legal services in Texas in the manner and to the extent permitted by the jurisdiction in which the person is authorized to practice or, in the case of a person who satisfies the requirements of Section 1(b)(1)(C) of this rule, to the extent permitted by the jurisdiction in which the person has been actively and substantially engaged in the lawful practice of law. But the Foreign Legal Consultant must not:

1. appear for a person other than himself or herself as an attorney in any court, or before any magistrate or other judicial officer, in Texas;
2. prepare any instrument effecting the transfer or registration of title to real estate located in the United States of America;
3. prepare:
   1. any will or trust instrument effecting the disposition on death of any property located in the United States of America and owned by a resident thereof; or
   2. any instrument relating to the administration of a decedent’s estate in the United States of America;
4. prepare any instrument in respect of the marital or parental relations, rights, or duties of a resident of the United States of America, or the custody or care of the children of such a resident;
5. render professional legal advice on the law of Texas or of the United States (unless the person is licensed in another state), except:
   1. on the basis of advice from a person, whom the Foreign Legal Consultant has identified to the client , who:
   1. is authorized to practice law in Texas or in the United States; and
   2. either:
      1. serves as co-counsel with the Foreign Legal Consultant on a matter for the client;
      2. is affiliated with the Foreign Legal Consultant through employment, partnership, or membership in the same law firm, company, or governmental agency; or
   2. as an in-house counsel advising the Foreign Legal Consultant’s employer in the scope of his or her employment;
6. (f) in any way hold himself or herself out as a member of the Bar of Texas; or
7. (g) carry on his or her practice under, or utilize in connection with such practice, any name, title, or designation other than one or more of the following:
   1. his or her own name;
   2. the name of the law firm with which he or she is affiliated;
   3. his or her authorized title in the foreign country in which he or she is authorized to practice, which may be used in conjunction with the name of such country; and
   4. the title "Foreign Legal Consultant," which may be used in conjunction with the words "authorized to the practice of law in [name of the foreign country in which he or she is authorized to practice]."

Rights and Obligations

Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 3 of this Rule, a person certified as a Foreign Legal Consultant under this Rule is considered to be a lawyer affiliated with the Bar of Texas and is entitled and subject to:

1. (a) the rights and obligations of a member of the Texas Bar that are set forth in the State Bar Act, the State Bar Rules, and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct or that arise from the other conditions and requirements that apply to a member of the Bar of Texas under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct; and
2. (b) the rights and obligations of a member of the Bar of Texas with respect to:
   1. affiliation in the same law firm with one or more members of the Bar of Texas, including by:
      1. employing one or more members of the Bar of Texas;
      2. being employed by one or more members of the Bar of Texas or by any partnership or professional corporation that includes members of the Bar of Texas or that maintains an office in Texas; and
      3. being a partner in any partnership or a shareholder in any professional corporation that includes members of the Bar of Texas or that maintains an office in Texas; and
   2. attorney-client privilege, work-product privilege, and similar professional privileges.

A person certified as a Foreign Legal Consultant under this Rule is not a “nonlawyer” as that term is used in rule §5.03 or 5.04 of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

A person who receives legal advice from a Foreign Legal Consultant is entitled to all privileges arising from the attorney-client relationship.

Disciplinary Provisions

1. Every person certified to practice as a Foreign Legal Consultant under this Rule is subject to censure, suspension, removal, or revocation of his or her certification to practice by the Supreme Court.
2. Every Foreign Legal Consultant must execute and file with the Board, in such form and manner as the Board may prescribe:
   1. a written commitment
      1. to observe the State Bar Act, the State Bar Rules, and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, to the extent that the Act and the Rules are applicable to the legal services authorized under Section 3 of this Rule; and
      2. to notify the Board of any change in the person’s good standing as a member of a foreign legal profession and of any final disciplinary action of the professional body or public authority that regulates attorneys in the foreign jurisdiction in which the Foreign Legal Consultant is authorized to practice law; and
   2. a notarized document that sets forth the person’s address in Texas and designates the Executive Director of the Board as the person’s agent for service of process in any action or proceeding brought against the person that arises from legal services rendered or offered to be rendered by the person within or to residents of Texas, whenever after due diligence service cannot be made on the person at the address on file with the Board.
3. Service of process on the Executive Director of the Board under subsection (b)(2) must be made by personally delivering to, and leaving with, the Executive Director, or another person at the office of the Board who is authorized to receive service, two copies of the citation and petition and a fee of $10. The Board must promptly send one copy to the Foreign Legal Consultant by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the address designated by the Foreign Legal Consultant under subsection (b)(2).