{"id":330,"date":"2019-09-04T18:30:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T23:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.tnble.org\/?page_id=330"},"modified":"2025-03-26T17:11:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T22:11:26","slug":"multi-jurisdictional-practice-in-house-counsel-and-foreign-legal-consultants","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/staging.tnble.org\/?page_id=330","title":{"rendered":"Registration for In-House Counsel and Foreign Legal Consultants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Application to Register as In-House Counsel is limited to lawyers who are admitted to the practice of law in another U.S. jurisdiction or as a Foreign Legal Consultant, to lawyers admitted to practice law in a country other than the United States and territories, and who are employed as a lawyer by an organization, the business of which is lawful and consists of activities other than the practice of law or the provision of legal services, and who has a systematic and continuous presence in this jurisdiction pursuant to Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 5.5(d)(1)<\/a>. The process for submitting a Tennessee Application to Register as In-House Counsel is completed online at synergy.tnble.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawyers working as In-House Counsel or Foreign Legal Consultants must register within 180 days <\/span>of establishing a systematic and continuous presence in Tennessee. A lawyer who opts to submit an application for admission by examination<\/a>, transferred UBE score<\/a>, comity <\/a>or as spouse of a military service-member<\/a> rather than register as In-House Counsel or a Foreign Legal Consultant is not protected by the 180 day grace period and should register for practice pending admission<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registration is governed by Section 10.01 of Rule 7<\/a> of the Tennessee Supreme Court Rules. To register as In-House Counsel\/Foreign Legal Consultant in Tennessee, you must provide two applications \u2013 the NCBE Character and Fitness Application (the \u201cNCBE application\u201d) found at www.ncbex.org<\/a> and the Tennessee application for registration as In House Counsel\/Foreign Legal Consultant, found at synergy.tnble.com<\/a> (the \u201cTennessee application\u201d). You must finalize your NCBE application before you begin your Tennessee application but you do not need to request a background investigation<\/span>; you are only completing the online application (see Step 2, below). There is a separate fee for the NCBE application and the Tennessee application. Both can be paid by credit card online after you finalize the online applications. You may also pay by cash, money order or check. The TBLE cannot accept payment without a Synergy application. Hard copies of applications are not accepted.\u00a0 Tennessee Applications to Register as In-House Counsel\/Foreign Legal Consultant are governed by Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, Section 10.01. Additional Instructions can be found in Steps 3 \u2013 5, below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please follow the steps below to register as In-house Counsel or Foreign Legal Consultant:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP 1: Read and familiarize yourself with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7<\/a> and the Board Policies and Procedures<\/a>, found under Governing Authorities in the menu list or by clicking the links. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP 2: Go to www.ncbex.org<\/a> and create a secure NCBE number account. The NCBE number will be required on all forms completed for the NCBE and the BLE applicant process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP 3: Login to www.ncbex.org<\/a>  using your secure account and complete the character and fitness application. Be sure to select the In-House Counsel option from the drop down labeled “application type” in the section after selecting which jurisdiction you are applying to. An online payment is required for this application; the payment link is accessible from the NCBE Application Home Page. You may skip the Fee Schedule section by clicking on “Next Question” as the displayed fees do not apply to In-House Counsel applicants. Be sure to also check In-House Counsel from the drop down for “Applying As” in the Personal Information section of the application. Save the application as a .pdf and include all forms and supporting documentation. You do not have to request a background investigation; you only need the completed application, for which there is a small fee to be paid to the NCBE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP 4: Navigate to Synergy at synergy.tnble.com<\/a> for the Tennessee Application. Complete the new user registration and submit. You will receive an email to confirm your registration. Once you have completed the confirmation, you may log in to Synergy. From the dashboard select \u201cApplication for In-House Counsel\u201d. Complete the application, then click Finish. Your application will display for review. Once you have reviewed your application, click on \u201csubmit and finalize\u201d (bottom left button)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

STEP 5: Once your application has been finalized, return to the dashboard and click the \u201cdetails\u201d button next to the application. From there you will upload the following documents, please note all documents must be in .pdf format:<\/p>\n\n\n\n