Every U.S. jurisdiction maintains a public record of who is licensed to practice law. Checking it takes less time than reading one online review, and it is the single most important step before hiring anyone.
Where to look
Each state's licensing authority — usually the state bar, sometimes the state supreme court — runs an attorney search. Find yours on the state pages of this site; each links directly to the official directory. Do not rely on a lawyer's own website, a directory listing (including this one) or a certificate on the wall.
What to check
- Status. Look for "active" or "eligible to practice." Inactive, suspended, resigned or disbarred attorneys may not represent you.
- Admission date. Experience claims should match. Someone "practicing for 20 years" who was admitted five years ago is a problem.
- Disciplinary history. Most directories show public sanctions. A single old reprimand may be explainable; a pattern is not.
- Name and address. Confirm the person you met is the person licensed. Impersonation of real attorneys does happen, especially in immigration and real estate.
- Other states. If your matter is in a different state, the lawyer must be licensed there (or formally admitted for your case). A license in one state is not a license everywhere.
Special cases
- Immigration: only licensed attorneys and DOJ-accredited representatives may give immigration legal advice. "Notarios" and "immigration consultants" may not.
- Veterans' claims: representatives must be VA-accredited.
- Patents: patent prosecution requires registration with the USPTO in addition to a state license.
- Federal court: lawyers must be separately admitted to each federal district; ask.
If something is wrong
If a person is giving legal advice without a license, report it to the state bar's unauthorized-practice-of-law office and, where money was taken, to the state attorney general. Many bars also run client-security funds that reimburse victims of attorney theft.