Changing your law office address: who to notify in California and Pennsylvania

Before you move: decide which address you will keep

Every update below is work, and some of it is filed case by case, so it pays to change your published address as rarely as possible. Many solo attorneys and small firms separate the two things: the place they work, which can change with a lease, and the mailing address on the bar record, letterhead and filings, which they keep for years.

If you plan to use a commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA) such as MailScans for that mailing address, start it before the move. Federal postal rules require a completed PS Form 1583 with two forms of ID before mail can be received for you, so open the mailbox first, then publish the address.

Source: USPS Domestic Mail Manual 508.1.8.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.

California state courts: a notice in each pending case

Updating the State Bar does not update your cases. California Rule of Court 2.200 says an attorney whose mailing address, telephone number, fax number or e-mail address (if provided) changes while an action is pending must serve all parties and file a written notice of the change. Do this in every pending case, in every county.

If you are served electronically, Rule 2.251(g) adds that a party or other person whose electronic service address changes during the case must promptly file a notice of the change electronically with the court and serve it electronically on everyone required to be served. Also update the address with any electronic filing service provider you use, so filings and notices go to the right place.

Source: California Rules of Court, rules 2.200 and 2.251(g) (courts.ca.gov).

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.

Pennsylvania: attorney registration, within 30 days

Pennsylvania Rule of Disciplinary Enforcement 219 requires written notice of a change in contact information to the Attorney Registration Office within 30 days. The Disciplinary Board lets you make the change through its secure online portal.

Contact information marked public appears on the Board's website. For good cause shown, you can ask in writing that your contact information not be made public; the request goes to the Attorney Registration Office in Harrisburg.

Source: Pa.R.D.E. 219 (204 Pa. Code § 83.219); Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Update My Information (padisciplinaryboard.org).

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.

Everyone else who has your old address

These are not bar or court rules, but they are where mail most often goes missing after a move:

• File a business change of address with USPS so mail that still uses the old address is forwarded while you finish the list.
• Tell current clients in writing, and update engagement letters and invoices.
• Tell opposing counsel and co-counsel in each matter, even where you have already filed a court notice.
• Update letterhead, your website, email signatures and directory listings. California and Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1 both bar false or misleading communications about a lawyer's services, so describe the new address the way you actually use it.
• Update your bank, your malpractice carrier and any vendor that sends you checks or originals.

Source: Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct 7.1(a); Pa. Rules of Prof. Conduct 7.1.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the current official source for your situation.