The Unauthorized Practice of Law and Remote Work: Ethics, Regulation, and Innovation in 2025
Amy Richardson is a partner with HWG LLP, where she serves as Chair of the Legal Ethics and Malpractice group. Ms. Richardson counsels and represents lawyers and law firms in disciplinary investigations and prosecutions and malpractice matters. She counsels and advises lawyers and law firms in partner admissions and departures, and law firm dissolutions. She teaches ethics and professional responsibility at Duke University School of Law.
Jessica Bednarz is the Director of Legal Services and the Profession at IAALS. In this role, Jessica is responsible for leading the vision and strategy of IAALS’ work around innovation, regulation, reform, and evolution in the areas of delivery of legal services and the legal profession more generally.
2 hour CLE
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Program Summary
Unauthorized practice rules were drafted for a profession that worked in one office, in one state — and remote arrangements have quietly dismantled that assumption. The attorney advising clients from a relocated home, the firm staffing matters across state lines, the practitioner licensed in one jurisdiction but physically sitting in another all now operate inside questions that ABA Model Rule 5.5 was never built to answer cleanly. ABA Formal Opinions 495 and 498, a growing body of state ethics guidance, and the regulatory sandboxes now running in multiple states have moved faster than most compliance habits, exposing lawyers who still rely on pre-2020 assumptions to disciplinary risk. This class maps Rule 5.5 and its temporary-practice exceptions, works through Opinions 495 and 498 and the key state opinions, examines sandbox and alternative-business-structure data, and applies IAALS research on allied legal professionals and consumer-oriented services. Attendees will be able to assess their own remote exposure and advise clients on cross-border practice with precision.
What will you learn
Attorneys will learn about ABA Model Rule 5.5, exceptions to the unauthorized practice of law, and recent opinions including ABA Formal Opinions 495 and 498.
What will you gain
Attorneys will gain insight into regulatory innovation initiatives, sandbox learnings, and research findings that enhance access to justice and improve consumer-oriented legal service delivery models.
Key topics to be discussed:
- Remote Practice
Examines whether attorneys can work remotely without committing the unauthorized practice oflaw. - ABA Opinions
Covers ABA Formal Opinion 495, ABA Formal Opinion 498, and relevant state opinions. - Model Rule
Reviews ABA Model Rule 5.5 and exceptions to the unauthorized practice of law. - Regulatory Sandboxes
Provides synopsis of regulatory innovation initiatives and sandboxes emerging across the UnitedStates. - Alternative Structures
Highlights alternative business structures, allied legal professionals, and community justice worker developments. - IAALS Research
Explores research findings and data collected with focus on consumer-oriented legal services.
This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.
Date / Time: July 16, 2026
- 2:00 pm – 4:10 pm Eastern
- 1:00 pm – 3:10 pm Central
- 12:00 pm – 2:10 pm Mountain
- 11:00 am – 1:10 pm Pacific
Closed-captioning available
Speakers
Amy E. Richardson | HWG LLP
Amy Richardson is a partner with HWG LLP, where she serves as Chair of the Legal Ethics and Malpractice group. Ms. Richardson counsels and represents lawyers and law firms in disciplinary investigations and prosecutions and malpractice matters. She counsels and advises lawyers and law firms in partner admissions and departures, and law firm dissolutions. She teaches ethics and professional responsibility at Duke University School of Law. Ms. Richardson has also successfully represented companies and individuals before federal and state regulatory agencies and Offices of Inspector General. Ms. Richardson’s extensive white collar criminal defense experience includes preparing clients for grand jury appearances and trial work. Ms. Richardson has received Chambers USA’s top ranking for white collar crime and government investigations lawyers in North Carolina.
Jessica Bednarz | IAALS, Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
Jessica Bednarz is the Director of Legal Services and the Profession at IAALS. In this role, Jessica is responsible for leading the vision and strategy of IAALS’ work around innovation, regulation, reform, and evolution in the areas of delivery of legal services and the legal profession more generally.
Jessica joined IAALS in 2023 after working at The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF). During her eight years with the CBF, Jessica worked on a wide range of access to justice issues. Her most recent work includes overseeing the CBF’s legal incubator program called the Justice Entrepreneurs Project, launching Legal Entrepreneurs for Justice in Colorado, staffing the Chicago Bar Association & Chicago Bar Foundation Task Force on the Sustainable Practice of Law and Innovation focused on regulatory reform, and creating practice resources such as the CBF Pricing and Limited Scope Representation Toolkits.
Prior to working at the CBF, Jessica was in private practice specializing in family law, both as a solo practitioner and as an associate at O’Connor Family Law, P.C. She later served as the MCLE Coordinator for The Chicago Bar Association and served as a consultant for the Colorado Bar Association.
Jessica received her JD and family law certificate, cum laude, from DePaul University College of Law and a BS from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She currently serves on the Colorado Access to Justice Commission Delivery of Legal Services Committee, the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, and the Legal Services Corporation Emerging Leaders Council. Jessica is originally from Fishers, Indiana. In her free time, she enjoys exploring, traveling, and community gardening.
Agenda
SESION 1 – UPL in a remote practice environment | 2:00pm – 2:20pm
Examine how remote work arrangements intersect with unauthorized practice of law restrictions, identifying when attorneys risk violations by serving clients across jurisdictions from home offices, virtual setups, or relocated workspaces.
SESSION 2 – Relevant ABA and state opinions on remote work | 2:20pm – 2:40pm
Review ABA Formal Opinions 495 and 498 alongside key state ethics opinions, clarifying when attorneys may practice remotely from jurisdictions where they are not licensed without triggering disciplinary exposure.
SESSION 3 – Regulatory innovation and sandbox learnings | 2:40pm – 3:00pm
Explore regulatory sandbox programs launched across multiple states, including outcomes, participant data, and lessons emerging from alternative business structures designed to expand legal service delivery and consumer access.
Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm
SESSION 4 – Multijurisdictional risks and policy trends | 3:10pm – 3:40pm
Analyze cross-border practice risks under ABA Model Rule 5.5, evaluate exceptions permitting temporary practice, and track policy trends reshaping how states regulate attorneys serving clients in multiple jurisdictions today.
SESSION 5 – Evidence from IAALS on consumer-oriented legal services | 3:40pm – 4:10pm
Review IAALS research findings on allied legal professionals, community justice workers, and consumer-focused service models, applying data-driven insights to enhance access to justice within evolving ethical frameworks.
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