Admission
Bar exam information, Mass. Board of Bar Examiners.
Applying for admission on motion, Supreme Judicial Court for the County of Suffolk.
Out of state counsel: Pro hac vice procedures, Mass. Appeals Court.
Mandatory online registration for attorneys, Mass. Board of Bar Overseers, effective September 1, 2016.
Rules Pertaining to Bar Admission in Massachusetts:
Selected cases
Joost v. Board of Bar Examiners, 495 Mass. 1006 (2024), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___ (2025)
The Court refused to waive the required academic degrees for the petitioner to take the bar exam, even though the petitioner had 50 years of legal experience.
Mitchell v. Board of Bar Examiners, 452 Mass. 582 (2008)
A graduate of a wholly-online law school (which was thus unqualified for ABA accreditation) could sit for the Massachusetts bar exam.
Practice of law
Laws
MGL c. 221, §§ 41, 45, 46 46A, 46B, 46C, 46D & 46E Authorized and unauthorized practice of law
Rules
Hiding in plain sight: Disciplinary rules you need to know that aren’t found in the Rules of Professional Conduct, Mass. Board of Bar Overseers. SJC Rule 4:01 Bar discipline.
Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, SJC Rule 3:07
Rules governing the practice of law in Massachusetts.
Selected cases
Bassichis v. Flores, 490 Mass. 143 (2022)
SJC dismissed a complaint against an attorney, who allegedly made fraudulent misrepresentations to the court during a divorce trial, on the basis of litigation privilege. Includes discussion on litigation privilege.
Carrasquillo v. Hampden County District Courts, 484 Mass. 367 (2020)
The court violated the authority of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) to control assignments and limit caseloads for its staff attorneys (as described in Deputy Chief Counsel for the Public Defender Division of CPCS v. Acting First Justice of Lowell District Court, 477 Mass. 178 [2017]) when it ordered that CPCS provide counsel every day to accept appointments. The court outlined the procedure for triggering the Lavallee protocol (as described in Lavallee v. Justices in Hampden Superior Court, 442 Mass. 228 [2004]).
Comm. v. Brown, 494 Mass. 326 (2025)
The conduct of trial counsel during defendant’s counseled police interview raised questions whether the attorney provided effective assistance of counsel. The court held that there was an actual conflict of interest because the attorney’s continuing representation of the defendant might force trial counsel to prove their own ineffectiveness to support a motion to suppress.
Comm. v. Dew, 492 Mass. 254 (2023)
A Superior Court judge erred in denying the criminal defendant's postconviction motion for a new trial and for leave to withdraw his guilty pleas based on deprivation of his right to effective assistance of counsel, where defense counsel's deep-seated animus against persons of the Muslim faith and his racism against Black persons, demonstrated by counsel's vitriolic social media posts (some contemporaneous with his representation of the defendant) and manifest in his treatment of the defendant -- a Black, Muslim man -- during the representation presented an actual conflict of interest in this case, and the defendant was not required to prove how his counsel's bigotry might have affected the plea deal or otherwise impaired the representation. See also,Commonwealth v. Badgett, 106 Mass.App.Ct. 245 (2025), where the court held that there can be a conflict of interest even if the attorney’s bias does not manifest itself in interactions with the client. The client was a Black man charged with firearms offenses. The attorney’s social media posts made during his representation of the client showed extreme racial bias especially towards Black persons charged with firearms offenses.
Comm. v. Moore, 474 Mass. 541 (2016)
Detailed discussion of the 2015 amendment to Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.5 (c), "regarding an attorney's ability to communicate, postverdict, with jurors who deliberated on, or were discharged from, the attorney's client's case." The appendix to this case offers a suggested jury instruction on contact by attorneys.
Comm. v. Mosso, 496 Mass. 768 (2025)
In a case of first impression, the court held that defense counsel’s failure to initiate plea negotiations amounts to ineffective assistance when counsel ignores a defendant’s reasonable request to initiate or pursue plea negotiations, and the defendant was prejudiced by counsel’s inaction.
Comm. v. Watt, 493 Mass. 322 (2024)
The court granted a new trial to a defendant convicted of first-degree murder because his trial counsel slept for a significant portion or during an important aspect of the trial. This deprived the defendant of the right to counsel under Article 12 and created a substantial risk of miscarriage of justice.
Lexington Public Schools v. K.S., 489 Mass. 309 (2022)
An assistant principal who filed and pursued a CRA petition (which was a standard Juvenile Court form) did not engage in the unauthorized practice of law.
In the Matter of Bott, 462 Mass. 430 (2012)
"[A]lthough mediation does not in all circumstances constitute the practice of law, an attorney who has resigned from the practice of law while the subject of disciplinary investigation ... or who has been disbarred or suspended from the practice of law... may be prohibited from serving as a mediator when to do so would be perceived by the public as an extension of the attorney's practice of law, or when the conduct of the mediation is so closely related to the practice of law as to constitute legal work within the meaning of S.J.C. Rule 4:01, § 17 (7)."
Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts v. National Real Estate Information Services, 459 Mass. 512 (2011)
The "closing or settlement of [real property conveyances] require[s] not only the presence but the substantive participation of an attorney on behalf of the mortgage lender, and ... certain services connected with real property conveyances constitute the practice of law in Massachusetts." Outlines what constitutes unauthorized practice of law in real estate transactions.
Web sources
Board of Bar Overseers
"The Board of Bar Overseers was established by the Supreme Judicial Court in 1974 as an independent administrative body to investigate and evaluate complaints against attorneys." Their website provides many articles about ethical issues for lawyers, including:
- Common ethical issues in criminal defense (2025)
- The ethics of charging and collecting fees (2015)
- Two years of fake cases and the court are ratcheting up the sanctions (2025); discusses specific cases in which an attorney was sanctioned or disciplined for misusing A.I. to cite fake legal authorities.
- The wild west of artificial intelligence (2024); reviews the definition of A.I. and the pertinent rules of professional conduct.
Ethics helpline, Mass. Board of Bar Overseers.
Office of Bar Counsel attorneys guide Massachusetts licensed attorneys in answering difficult ethical questions.
Featured practice tips from the Superior Court bench, MCLE.
A "series of short 3- to 15-minute video briefings offering practical advice from more than 80 active and alumni members of the Massachusetts Superior Court."
Mass. Bar Association Committee on Professional Ethics Opinions
Opinions published from 1973 to 2017.
Massachusetts Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA)
Includes information and guidelines for both attorneys and financial institutions.
Metadata: What is it, and what are my ethical duties?, LLRX.com, 2009.
Metadata is the information you don't see when you open a document, but is retained and can be viewed. Includes previous versions, comments, authors, and more. This article discusses the dangers of metadata in digital files, the ethical responsibilities for attorneys both in their own documents and in viewing documents sent by others, and how to avoid metadata issues.
Print sources
Conflicts of interest in the practice of law: Causes and cures, Banks and Jordan, 2015 with supplement.
"Custom and practice" unmasked: The legal history of Massachusetts’s experience with the unauthorized practice of law, 94 Mass. L. Rev. 124 (2013). Available through document delivery service.
Does ChatGPT have a role in law practice?, MCLE, 2024.
Ethical and practical considerations for departing a law firm, MCLE, 2023.
Ethical lawyering in Massachusetts, 6th ed., MCLE, 2024.
Ethical standards in the public sector: A guide for government lawyers, clients, and public officials, 3rd ed., ABA, 2022. (eBook available with library card)
Family law ethical landmines, MCLE, 2015.
Hanging your shingle, 2nd ed., MCLE, 2020.
How to succeed as a trial lawyer, 3rd ed., ABA, 2025. (eBook available with library card)
Legal ethics and social media: A practitioner’s handbook, 2nd ed., ABA, 2022. (eBook available with library card)
Navigating conflicts and other ethical litigation landmines, MCLE, 2021.
Limited Assistance Representation (LAR)
Limited Assistance Representation information for the public and information for attorneys, Executive Office of the Trial Court.
Massachusetts courts may allow attorneys to assist litigants with selected documents or appearances without taking on full representation. Includes links to information for each court department.
Print sources
Building your practice with limited assistance representation, MCLE, 2013.
Limited Assistance Representation (LAR) training, MBA, 2017.
Tips & tools for using Limited Assistance Representation in your probate & family court practice, MCLE, 2023.
Choosing, hiring, and working with a lawyer
Finding a lawyer, Mass. Trial Court Law Libraries.
Provides links to information on choosing a lawyer, lawyer referral, legal aid, and limited assistance representation sources. This page also includes links to sources for finding lawyers in other states or countries.
Look up a Massachusetts attorney, Mass. Board of Bar Overseers.
Select “Look Up An Attorney” on the blue banner, then fill in search field(s) to find an attorney, their contact information, status (active, clerk/judicial, deceased, inactive, retired, suspension/disbarment), date of admission, Board of Bar Overseers number, whether they carry malpractice insurance, and whether they have any history of public discipline. Note: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts does not require attorneys to carry malpractice insurance.
Working with a lawyer, Mass. Trial Court Law Libraries.
Provides information on paying a lawyer, confidentiality and more.
Alternative Dispute Resolution, Executive Office of the Trial Court.
The Massachusetts Trial Court offers court-connected ADR as an alternative to litigation in every Trial Court Department. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a generic term used to describe certain processes in which an impartial third person assists parties in settling a case without the need for trial.
Complaints and attorney discipline
MGL c. 221, § 42A Removal or discipline for legal representation related to reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care services
Bar discipline: SJC Rule 4:01
Rules governing attorney discipline.
Web sources
Massachusetts Clients' Security Board of the SJC
"Board members manage and distribute the monies in the Fund to members of the public who have sustained a financial loss caused by the dishonest conduct of a member of the bar acting as an attorney or a fiduciary." Site includes information and form for filing a claim, and the Board's rules and annual report.
Filing a complaint against an attorney, Mass. Board of Bar Overseers.
Explains the process of pursuing an ethical complaint against an attorney regarding professional conduct. The Office of Bar Counsel and the Mass. BBO also attempt to assist in resolving attorney-client disputes.
Legal Fee Arbitration Board, Mass. Bar Association.
The Massachusetts Bar Association Legal Fee Arbitration Board (FAB) "exists primarily to help resolve legal fee disputes between attorneys and between attorneys and their clients."
Cases
Ellis v. Department of Industrial Accidents, 463 Mass. 541 (2012)
G. L. c. 152, § 7C, which authorizes the senior judge of the Department of Industrial Accidents to discipline an attorney by permanently or temporarily suspending the attorney's right to practice before the department, violates art. 30 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, because the statute infringes on a core judicial function, i.e., the power to admit and remove officers of the court, and to regulate their professional conduct.
Print sources
Legal malpractice, Thomson West, annual.
Massachusetts bar discipline: History, practice, and procedure, Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court, 2018.
Professional malpractice, Mass. Practice volume 51, part II, Legal Malpractice, West Group, 2007 with supplement.
Understanding the lawyer disciplinary process in Massachusetts, MCLE, 2022.
Contact
Online
| Last updated: | December 4, 2025 |
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