In December 2020, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility published Formal Opinion 495 regarding Lawyers Working Remotely. It recognized that the rules regarding the unauthorized practice of law were meant to protect the public from people who were not licensed attorneys, and that this purpose was not served by prohibiting a lawyer from practicing the law of the jurisdiction in which they were licensed, even if physically present in a different jurisdiction. 

Following in those footsteps, Texas has now endorsed a similar position through the changes to Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct Rule 5.05. 

Rule 5.05(a) restates the general rule that a lawyer shall not practice in a jurisdiction if it would violate the laws of that jurisdiction, nor shall a lawyer assist a person who is not licensed in activity that constitutes the practice of law.  Rule 5.05(b) adds to those…