I think I have a medical malpractice claim in Tennessee. I live in Tennessee and the malpractice occurred in Tennessee. Can I hire an out-of-state lawyer to represent me in this case?
Yes, although the out-of-state lawyer must either have a Tennessee law license or must work with a Tennessee lawyer on the case.
The more important question is why would you hire an out-of-state lawyer to represent you? There is a real advantage to hiring a lawyer who is familiar with Tennessee law (the law of every state is a little different, and Tennessee has some very unusual aspects to its medical malpractice law) and who knows the way our legal system works. There are some very good medical malpractice lawyers in this state who have experience in a wide variety of medical malpractice cases, and thus it rarely makes sense to go to the trouble of finding an out-of-state lawyer to work on a case.
If you hire an out-of-state lawyer read the employment agreement carefully and see if you bear the responsibility for travel expenses. There tends to be a significant number of hearings and depositions in medical malpractice cases, and if you are responsible for those expenses your recovery in the case, if any, will be decreased.