Given the nationalization (and globalization) of various elements of our society over the past sixty years (e.g., WalMart, network television, interstate highways, Hollywood), the legal profession stands in stark contrast. While, to many, the crossing of a state border is an artificial construct, states have maintained a hold on the practice of lawyers, regulating anyone, even licensed attorneys from another jurisdiction, to practice in the state.
Still, the ascendancy of the federal government and the gradual erosion of the significance of states have served to ameliorate some of the distinctions between a Virginia attorney and a North Carolina attorney. Here’s what makes sense: in an information economy in which very competent law firms and lawyers practice in multiple jurisdictions and often engage in very discrete specialties, the foundation for controlling the legal profession, e.g., insuring that the public is well served, may be less relevant. Can you really say that a North Carolina attorney could not bone up on the necessary Virginia law issues and provide advice to a client or litigate a matter in Virginia courts?
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