§ 84A-5.  Duties of a foreign legal consultant.

A foreign legal consultant shall:

(1) Be subject to rules adopted by the North Carolina Supreme Court and the North Carolina State Bar and be subject to professional discipline in the same manner as is prescribed for disciplinary proceedings against attorneys;

(2) Be subject to a proceeding brought by the North Carolina State Bar in superior court pursuant to G.S. 84-28(j) to protect the interests of clients of disabled, incapacitated, or deceased foreign legal consultants;

(3) Provide the Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court with evidence of professional liability insurance, in an amount as prescribed by the Supreme Court to assure the foreign legal consultant's proper professional conduct and responsibility;

(4) Subject his or her trust accounts to audit in the same manner as is prescribed for attorneys licensed to practice law in North Carolina;

(5) Execute and file with the Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court, in a form and manner as prescribed by the Clerk:

a. An oath attesting that the foreign legal consultant will abide by the Rules of Professional Conduct of the North Carolina State Bar and those rules and directives of the North Carolina Supreme Court that are applicable to foreign legal consultants;

b. A document setting forth the foreign legal consultant's address in the State and designating the Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court as agent upon whom process may be served, with the same effect as if served personally upon the foreign legal consultant in any judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative proceeding brought against the foreign legal consultant arising out of or based upon any legal services rendered or offered to be rendered by the foreign legal consultant within the State or to residents of the State; and

c. The foreign legal consultant's commitment to notify the Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court of any resignation or revocation of the foreign legal consultant's admission to practice law, or the equivalent thereof, in the foreign country in which he or she is admitted to practice as an attorney, or the equivalent thereof, and of any censure, suspension, reprimand, or expulsion with respect to that admission, or of any change of address within the State.

(6) Pay an annual administration fee to the North Carolina State Bar equal in amount to the annual membership fee charged to active members of the North Carolina State Bar. Such fee shall be due on January 1 and delinquent on July 1 for each year or portion of a year in which the foreign legal consultant holds a certificate of registration. No portion of the annual administrative fee shall be waived or prorated. The State Bar's rules and regulations regarding enforcement and collection of annual membership fees shall apply to the enforcement of the obligation to pay the administrative fee. (1995, c. 427, s. 1.)