State bar reciprocity - what does it mean, what states do it

Imagine you're a lawyer, licensed in one state, and you'd like to move to another state. Or you get a case that is in another state - can you go to set up your practice in a new state, or take the out-of-state case? Possibly yes, if your state has reciprocity with the other.

State bars set their own reciprocity rules. If a state has decided not to reciprocate, then to practice in the "new" state, a lawyer has to take the bar exam for that state.

A good place to start researching this topic is here: Bar reciprocity.com

Keep in mind that the reciprocity process is not over night - anecdotal evidence suggests that the process can take 6 months. So if you're licensed in North Dakota, for example, practice for five years, then apply for reciprocity to Michigan, don't expect to be admitted overnight. Instead, the state bar will let you know in six months. 

Former inmate gets law degree after settling wrongful conviction suit for $3.4 million

A New York man who was convicted of killing his parents in 1990 achieved two milestones this year: He obtained a nearly $3.4 million settlement in a suit alleging wrongful conviction, and he graduated from law school.

Article here. 

Martin Tankleff will take the bar exam in August and the next month he will become executive director of a group that works to free wrongfully convicted inmates.

“I look forward to being able to work with people who have been wrongfully convicted,” Tankleff said, according to the New York Post account. “I think I understand the system better than anyone else, any lawyer, any judge.”