Ch. 3

LAWS OF MARYLAND

REVISOR'S NOTE: This section is new language added to
conform to similar provisions in other titles of this
article and to provide a convenient reference to this
title.

Defined term: "Lawyer" § 10-101

GENERAL REVISOR'S NOTE:

I.  Authority to regulate lawyers.

Although the General Assembly enacts some laws about lawyers
and the practice of law, under Md. Declaration of Rights, Art. 8
and Md. Constitution, Art. IV, § 18 (a), the Court of Appeals has
the ultimate authority and responsibility to regulate the legal
profession. See generally Attorney General v. Waldron, 289 Md.
683, 687 - 703 (1981). As a result, the regulatory scheme of
this title differs in some respects from the titles of this
article that the Department of Licensing and Regulation
administers. The most notable differences relate to the State
Board of Law Examiners and the disciplinary provisions.

The State Board of Law Examiners, as an agency of the Court
of Appeals, is responsible primarily for determining the
qualifications of applicants. Some provisions on the Board exist
only as rules of the Court, under the Rules Governing Admission
to the Bar, and not as parts of the Code.

Similarly, the exhaustive disciplinary scheme for the legal
profession exists by court rule, not legislative enactment.
Thus, while criminal acts are included in this title, provisions
for the discipline of lawyers are not included in the title.

II.  Transferred provisions.

The Business Occupations Article Review Committee felt that
several provisions more appropriately belonged in the Courts and
Judicial Proceedings Article. Those provisions are former Art.
10, § 45, which provided for automatic termination of the
appearance of an attorney at law in a case, and the third
sentence of § 30, which protected certain Montgomery County
employees from liability for assistance given in connection with
the preparation of complaints.

The Committee also proposes to transfer, to the Estates and
Trusts Article, the provisions of the first sentence of former
Art. 10, § 30 that allowed a judge of the Orphans' Court in
Prince George's County to practice law, and the second sentence
of § 30, which allowed a judge of the Orphans' Court of Baltimore
City to practice law before any court of the State except an
Orphans' Court.

III.  Deleted provisions.

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