2022 ARIZONA LEGISLATIVE SESSION UPDATE

B Y M O L L Y P O D L E S N Y S A N D E R S & P A R K S , P . C .

Arizona is routinely at the forefront of making changes to the status quo for how lawyers conduct business and practice law. This legislative session is no different. There are two bills of note currently in the state legislature that if passed, would affect the practice of law in Arizona.

The first bill, SB1565 was introduced in the Arizona Senate on February 1, 2022. This bill would allow attorneys to be sworn into the bar by the Arizona Supreme Court without being members of the State Bar of Arizona. As of 2020, there were mandatory state bar memberships in 31 states and the District of Columbia. If passed SB1565 would place Arizona among the minority of states with solely voluntary bar associations and potentially upend the lawyer licensing and disciplinary process in Arizona. The bill passed the Senate and was introduced in the House, where it also passed the House Judiciary Committee. It has been retained by the House Committee of the Whole, where it remains on the calendar. No vote has yet been held and the bill remains in limbo with other bills—likely due to the legislature’s focus on passing a budget.

Currently, to become a licensed attorney in Arizona, prospective lawyers must be members of the State Bar. Proponents of the bill suggest it would remove

another entry requirement to practice law in Arizona and further reduce legal costs –the same motivation behind last year’s Supreme Court rules that (1) allow non-lawyers to have ownership interests in law firms and share profits with lawyers; and (2) allow the licensing of legal paraprofessionals to provide limited public services, including representing clients in court. Opponents of the bill suggest that it improperly invades separation of powers by usurping the role of the Arizona Supreme Court in regulating attorney licensing and membership.