What's up with this attorney?

[tutusue]

A saw a local commercial this morning showing attorney Robert Friedman advertising his services. Near the end of the spot a disclaimer near the bottom stated he's licensed in Alaska and Washington but is not a member of the bar in Hawaii.

It's probably my lack of experience/knowledge with lawyers but I thought one had to pass the bar here in order to practice here.

Any insight?

[1stwahine]

HAWAII STATE BAR ASSOCIATION Lawyer Referral & Information Service
All Lawyer Referral & Information Service (hereinafter "LRIS") attorney members must be duly licensed to practice in the State of Hawaii and abide by the....
http://www.hsba.org/resources/1/documents/HSBA-Lawyer-referral.pdf

I can't get the pdf file open. (Dang!) The question remains does he have to be part of the bar? Then again which BAR?heheheh

Auntie Lynn

[Adri]

I haven't seen the ad. What was he advertising for? That is, was he seeking general clients or clients for a class action lawsuit or a specific type of work?

There's a slim slim chance that he's seeking work with pro hac vice status (but that requires court approval for each such case).

http://dictionary.law.com/default2.asp?typed=pro+hac+vice&type=1

My understanding is that usually happens when the lawyer is licensed in a different state and considered an expert in an area and no other experts as highly qualified in that area are available in Hawaii.

It is also possible that he's advertising here for clients who may have work in the jurisdictions in which he is licensed to practice law. For example, some Hawaii lawyers advertise or try to market themselves (mainly to other lawyers I believe) in other states because it's common enough for people to have real property interests in Hawaii even if the people live in other states and sometimes they need Hawaii lawyers to help them with their needs here.

[tutusue]

I will, most certainly, pay stricter attention to the spot the next time I see it. I promise! :o