Unauthorized Practice of Law

Unauthorized Practice of Law

            Professionals are expected to operate under various rules and conditions. However, professions have been suffering from the practice of individuals outside the set rules hindering the regulation of multiple occupations. The field of law has not been left behind with paralegals taking responsibilities that are expected to be undertaken by registered lawyers. The New York State Bar Association has come up with regulations that govern the operation of lawyers across New York. The practice of law has managed to overcome the challenges of professional practice, but the field still witnesses a growing number of paralegals who attempt to practice beyond the set restrictions. Generally, a paralegal is expected to operate under the supervision of an attorney, but the pattern has been changing with some paralegals attempting to offer services that are supposed to be offered by lawyers. Official requirements are set to ensure that all paralegals operate under supervision. However, the number of law assistants and the responsibilities they undertake has grown significantly hence a cause for alarm over the practical method of addressing the growth. The growth of the unauthorized practice of law has been a cause for concern both in New York and other states, leading to efforts aimed at coming up with regulations.

Practice in the field of law is based on an authorization that is done after an individual completes a series of bar exams. New York joins other states in coming up with regulations for the authorization of law practitioners. Recent years have seen an increment in the number of cases of individuals acting against the set regulations (Klein, 2017). However, the involvement in the illegal practice of law exposes individuals to possible hefty fines and lawsuits that may lead to jail. Several attempts have been made to come up with a strategy that prevents more people from engaging in the unlawful practice of law, which may make the professions in the field to lose their efficiency. Moreover, impersonation in the field of law is done b people with intense experience on matters of law, making regulation complicated for the various bodies.

Paralegals have been coming up with impersonation strategies to avoid being identified by regulation bodies for practicing against the set regulations. Generally, paralegals have been presenting themselves as qualified lawyers without anyone being able to notice the lack of qualifications among the individuals (Cannon & Aytch, 2017). Besides, the impersonators are people who have been in the field of law for a long time and thus the individuals utilize all the available loopholes to avoid being caught by relevant authorities. Besides, the process of acquiring the required qualifications is a long one, and most individuals leave before completing the required studies. Also, some individuals fail in the bar tests but have sufficient knowledge to participate in law proceedings. Therefore, identifying the illegal practitioners is a struggle, and the regulations set b the bar organizations are meant to discourage people from the vices for fear of the associated consequences. Moreover, the practice of paralegals against the regulations of law has become standard due to the nature of the activities that paralegals are expected to undertake.

The operation of paralegals is not primarily illegal. However, the activities that are associated with paralegals expose them to illegal practice. Paralegals are expected to manage clients, research on precedents for court cases, prepare documents for various law firms as well as to engage litigants in a bid to get more information concerning a case. However, the activities require that a paralegal should be licensed before undertaking the activities. The requirements are unfortunately not accompanied by the active implementation as some of the paralegals are not supervised as required, and the services offered are almost at the required levels of quality. Therefore, the regulations have had significant loopholes that are used by paralegals to escape the requirements of the law. Moreover, the unauthorized practice of law goes beyond the frequent disqualification of lawyers from the bars and the impersonations.

Unauthorized practice of law covers several aspects as specified by the various regulations of bar associations. A lawyer in New York, for example, maybe registered to undertake law activities within the state. Generally, lawyers are used to creating partnerships that lead to the adequate provision of services. However, partnerships expose lawyers to unauthorized practice of law without their knowledge. For example, a lawyer may get into a partnership with an unauthorized practitioner, and the law prohibits lawyers from getting into partnerships with unauthorized practitioners. Generally, a lawyer who is getting into a partnership with an attorney outside the state should ensure that the attorney is not carrying out unauthorized practices in the state. Besides, the ethical requirements set b the New York State Bar Association aims at helping the registered lawyers from falling victims of unauthorized practice. The ethical standards are regularly updated to meet the various requirements that arise daily owing to the fast-growing number of paralegals and attorneys practicing outside their registered states. Moreover, the complaints concerning the impacts of unauthorized practice of law have led to several amendments in a bid to come up with an authentic law system.

Law and justice are among the most sensitive aspects of every society. The emergence of unauthorized practice of law has come as a setback on the move to keep the reputation of the law practice at the highest possible quality. New York has, in recent years, joined other states in a move to make crucial amendments in the laws governing the practice of law and attempt to curb the growing illegal practice of law. Clients have, in the past, fallen victims of severe damages for paying for low-quality services from unqualified law practitioners and later finding out that the state is not responsible. Besides, an unauthorized practitioner holds no responsibility for damages that may occur due to poor representation or misguided advice. Also, the clients do are always not in a position to differentiate between the legal and illegal practitioners; hence, the various bar associations are trusted to regulate the sector effectively. The effectiveness of the various regulations has been witnessed, although the perpetrators have been coming up with new loopholes and have continued to escape the regulations for a long time. Moreover, the various regulations have brought sanity and sensitization in the field of law.

The regulations set by the New York State Bar Association as well as in other states have been effective in addressing the rising number of unauthorized practice of law. First, the amendments have managed to identify the illegal practice of law as a felony where a client incurs significant damage (Ambrogi, 2015). Clients have been offered an opportunity to sue law practitioners who operate below their expectations. Also, the impersonation of law practitioners has been identified as a felony where a law practitioner uses a title such as an attorney despite lacking the necessary qualifications. Some cases have ended up leading to significant monetary loses in the past without the clients getting justice. Also, the benchmark for the amount of loss that should be considered in the event of illegal practice has been set, and the courts have an easier time making rulings based on such cases. However, most amendments have left loopholes that have continued to be used by illegal practitioners in their activities.

Illegal practice of law has appeared day-in-day-out in New York and other states. The increasing number of cases has caused concern on whether the regulations have been effective in the avoidance of illegal practice of law. Some of the loopholes have been obvious, and illegal practitioners have not failed to capitalize on them (Swenson, 2018). For example, the law requires that the loss to be considered should be above $1000. General, the loss is set on the higher side, yet most clients incur significant losses on repeated occasions. An illegal practitioner will look for methods of coming up with strategies to avoid engaging in losses that will hit the benchmark. Also, the practitioner may specialize in engaging in several little cases that may eventually go above the benchmark, but the law will not take the course when the loss is not associated with a single client. Also, the consequences for different damages are different, leaving a gap where illegal practitioners engage in activities that do not lead one into severe consequences. Generally, the amendments have appeared lenient, and offenders have been easy finding alternatives; hence, the regulations are not sufficient. Several cases of illegal practice of law have been reported in the past rising concerns over the effectiveness of the already-set regulations. Moreover, recommendations are necessary to have the regulations effective and to come up with stronger regulations.

Recommendations are required to make the existing regulations more effective and to save clients from damages caused b illegal practice of the law. First, the consequences of illegal practice of law should be stiffened to create fear among the perpetrators. Lenient consequences will not stop perpetrators from engaging in activities that will provide more benefits compared to the consequences faced. Also, the services of trained and licensed lawyers should be made more affordable to the citizens. Unaffordable services have been pushing clients to untrained and unlicensed practitioners who offer cheaper services. Also, the activities of paralegals should be reduced to reduce the loopholes caused by the many activities that paralegals are allowed to undertake. The cases that have already occurred due to the illegal practice of law provide a basis for coming up with stronger regulations to curb the ever-growing disaster.

Several cases have remained in history for the illegal practice of law. One of the cases is the one between Herbert Sussman as the plaintiff and Marcia Grado as the defendant. The case was brought about by the loss that the plaintiff claims to have incurred for transacting with the defendant. The defendant received $45 for the services offered to the plaintiff, although the defendant had admitted not to know a turn-over order. The services offered were, however, found to be guilty, and the plaintiff sued the defendant for damages. Furthermore, the defendant had prepared deficient documents that had contributed towards the closing of the case by the prosecutor, and the plaintiff incurred significant losses. The case of Herbert and Marcia is one of many cases that have happened after clients seek services of illegal law practitioners.

In sum, the growth of the unauthorized practice of law has been a cause for concern both in New York and other states, leading to efforts aimed at coming up with regulations. Practice in the field of law is based on an authorization that is done after an individual completes a series of bar exams. Paralegals are expected to manage clients, research on precedents for court cases, prepare documents for various law firms as well as to engage litigants in a bid to get more information concerning a case. Moreover, the complaints concerning the impacts of unauthorized practice of law have led to several amendments in a bid to come up with an authentic law system. The regulations set by the New York State Bar Association as well as in other states have been adequate to some extent, in addressing the rising number of unauthorized practice of law. The cases that have already occurred due to the illegal practice of law provide a basis for coming up with stronger regulations to curb the ever-growing disaster

References

Ambrogi, R. (2015). Authorized Practice. ABAJ, 101, 72.

Cannon, T. A., & Aytch, S. T. (2017). Ethics and professional responsibility for paralegals.         Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.

Klein, L. (2017). The American Bar Association Is Working to Expand. The Judges’ Journal,      56(1), 4.

Swenson, G. (2018). The promise and peril of paralegal aid. World Development, 106, 51-63.