This CLE presentation addresses the contours of what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) starting with an introduction based on an article I had written that chronicled LegalZoom’s travails as it encountered and overcame a series of UPL challenges from various jurisdictions into which it entered during its expansion into a nationwide provider of legal services focused on individuals and small businesses.

It then describes and applies through various hypothetical and actual cases ABA Model Rule 5.5 which addresses what constitutes UPL and has been adopted in whole or with limited modifications throughout the United States.

This class is focused on familiarizing attorneys in private practice performing transactional work and/or telecommuting from a state or states outside where they are admitted to practice on how to avoid unintentionally committing UPL violations.