House Study Bill 9 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to qualifications to practice law in Iowa
2and regulation of persons admitted to practice law in a
3jurisdiction of the United States other than Iowa.
4BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  Section 602.10102, Code 2019, is amended to read
2as follows:
   3602.10102  Qualifications for admission.
   4Every applicant for such admission shall be a person of
5honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, truthfulness and one who
6appreciates and will adhere to a code of conduct for lawyers
7as adopted by the supreme court. The applicant shall be an
8inhabitant of this state, and
shall have actually and in good
9faith pursued a regular course of study of the law and shall
10have graduated from some reputable law school. The application
11form shall not contain a recent photograph of the applicant.
12An applicant shall not be ineligible for registration because
13of age, citizenship, sex, race, religion, marital status or
14national origin although the application form may require
15citizenship information. The board may consider the past
16record of guilty pleas and convictions of public offenses of an
17applicant. Character references may be required; however, such
18references shall not be restricted to lawyers.
19   Sec. 2.  Section 602.10109, Code 2019, is amended to read as
20follows:
   21602.10109  Practitioners from other states United States
22jurisdictions
.
   23Any person who is a resident of this state, and has been
24admitted to the bar of any other state in the United States, or
25 the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States,
26 may, in the discretion of the court, be admitted to practice in
27this state without examination or proof of a period of study.
28The person, in the application for admission to practice law
29in this state, in addition to all other requirements stated in
30this chapter, shall establish that the person has practiced law
31for five full years under license in such jurisdiction within
32the seven years immediately preceding the date of application
33and still holds a license to practice law. The teaching of law
34as a full-time instructor in a recognized law school in this
35state or some other state shall for the purpose of this section
-1-1be deemed the practice of law. Any person who has discharged
2actual legal duties as a member of the armed services of
3the United States shall be deemed to have practiced law for
4the purposes of this section if certified to as such by the
5judge advocate general of the service. The court may charge
6an investigation fee based upon the cost of conducting the
7investigation as determined by the court.
8   Sec. 3.  Section 602.10111, Code 2019, is amended to read as
9follows:
   10602.10111  Nonresident Non-Iowa attorney — appointment of
11local Iowa attorney.
   12Any member of the bar of another state, the District of
13Columbia, or a territory of the United States
actually engaged
14in any cause or matter pending in any court of this state, may
15be permitted by such court to appear in and conduct such cause
16or matter while retaining the attorney’s residence in another
17state
, without being subject to this article; provided that at
18the time the attorney enters an appearance the attorney files
19with the clerk of such court the written appointment of some
20attorney resident and admitted to practice in the state of
21Iowa, upon whom service may be had in all matters connected
22with said action, with the same effect as if personally made on
23such foreign attorney within this state. In case of failure to
24make such appointment, such attorney shall not be permitted to
25practice as provided in this section, and all papers filed by
26the attorney shall be stricken from the files.
27EXPLANATION
28The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
29the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   30This bill removes the requirement that an applicant for
31admission to practice law (be admitted to the bar) in Iowa be
32a resident of Iowa. The bill, in part, is a response to the
33United States Supreme Court’s decision in Supreme Court of New
34Hampshire v.Piper, 470 U.S. 274 (1985). That case held that a
35state residency requirement to be admitted to the bar violated
-2-1the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the United States
2Constitution.
   3The bill provides that people who are qualified to be
4admitted to practice law in Iowa at the discretion of the
5court include not only persons who have been admitted to the
6bars of any other state or the District of Columbia but also a
7territory of the United States.
   8Finally, the bill provides that an out-of-state attorney
9admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia or a territory
10of the United States may apply to appear pro hac vice in an Iowa
11case and removes the requirement that the local attorney be a
12resident of Iowa; however, it maintains the requirement that
13the local attorney be admitted to practice law in the state of
14Iowa.
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