National Ass’n for the Advancement of Multijurisdiction Practice v. Berch

In this case, the plaintiffs challenged Rule 34(f) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Arizona, which conditions the ability of attorneys who wish to be admitted to the State Bar on motion on the willingness of the state in which they are currently licensed to admit attorneys from Arizona on similar conditions. The Arizona Supreme Court found in a prior case that this reciprocity condition is satisfied by the rules of 32 states and the District of Columbia, but is not satisfied in 17 other states and five territories. In this case, a federal district court upheld the reciprocity requirement, relying on defendants’ assertion that the rule “serves the interest of encouraging other states to admit Arizona attorneys on similar terms.” In support of the plaintiffs’ appeal, Public Citizen filed an amicus brief arguing that the rule violates the Dormant Commerce Clause. In a December 2014 decision, however, the court upheld the Arizona rule.