Can I practice both criminal defense and prosecution and business law as a lawyer?

2 Comments

1. PE2008 says:

   November 14, 2009 at 7:14 am

   Some common law countries — UK, Canada, etc — allow "private prosecutions", which would be conducted by an attorney who might ordinarily practice only as a defence lawyer.
2. ownpool says:

   November 14, 2009 at 7:14 am

   I am a retired lawyer. You cannot practice both sides of criminal law at the same time. Most criminal prosecution law is done by full-time members of a prosecuting attorney’s office. A condition of employment and a state bar rule is that attorneys who are so employed cannot take criminal defense cases.

   In some very small counties, the prosecutor is an independent contractor in private practice. Once again, state bar rules would prohibit this lawyer from taking defense cases during the period of the contract.

   An attorney in private practice could do both criminal defense and business law and could even do them at the same time in the defense of a white collar crime.