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Saturday, October 10, 2026

California Government's Registered In-House Counsel - The National Law Review

Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of a general counsel for the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation. The appointee, a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, had previously served as a Senior Attorney for several years at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. However, the appointment raised just one question - the appointee was not a member of the California bar.

California has several programs that permit attorneys from other U.S. jurisdictions to practice in California. One of these programs is for Registered In-House Counsel. This program allows a non-California attorney to provide legal services in California exclusively for a qualifying institution that employs the attorney. Rule 9.46(a) of the California Rules of Court defines "qualifying institution" as "means a corporation, a partnership, an association, or other legal entity, including its subsidiaries and organizational affiliates, which has an office located in California". A "qualifying institution" must either: (i) employ at least five full time employees; or (ii) employ in California an attorney who is an active licensee in good standing of the State Bar of California.

.The rule, however, also provides that "Neither a governmental entity nor an entity that provides legal services to others can be a qualifying institution for purposes of this rule". Because this seemed to be a bar to the DFPI's employment of a non-California attorney as general counsel,...



Read Full Story: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/registered-house-counsel-not-option-gove...