This case concerned the issue of whether an out-of-state attorney representing a client in an arbitration proceeding in Massachusetts constituted the unauthorized practice of law and, if so, whether the arbitration award should be vacated. The BBA brief made the following two points: 1) It is not the “unauthorized practice of law” for a lawyer admitted in another state to represent a client in an arbitration sited in Massachusetts when permitted to do so by the arbitrator or arbitral tribunal; and, 2) Regardless of whether it constitutes the “unauthorized practice of law,” the fact that a prevailing party in an arbitration was represented by out-of-state counsel is not grounds for vacating an arbitral award.
