UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW

RUNNING HEAD : UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW

Unauthorized practice of law (Your Name (Your School

Unauthorized practice of law

Introduction

The unauthorized practice of law (UPL ) is practicing law without an attorney 's license . This is to protect public against the practitioners who are not qualified in provision of the service . With the growth of multidisciplinary practices (MDPs , the practice of law is becoming much important as many unqualified people are offering services that were initially offered by lawyers . This has attracted a special concern to lawyers , courts staffs and lawyers

who are working in foreign land

The law in the United States recognizes the rights of individuals to be represented or represent themselves in legal matters . The law protects the privilege of protecting others , this is to ensure that those who present others are in deed qualified by experience , education and training and they can be held accountable for any misrepresentation and unethical practices

Non-lawyers and MDPs may not be qualified by either of the above , thus they are not accountable for their actions and are not prevented by the law from using the system for their own purpose and scrutinize those who rely on them

This has attracted the need to understand who non-lawyers are and who are authorized practitioners of the law and the consequences one may suffer if attended by unqualified personnel , the need to recognize lawyers and what are the clients ' rights in representation (Bonnie 1989

Paralegal and legal assistants

The paralegals and legal assistance are untrained personnel who work in law firms and their work is to help the lawyer in preparing for closings , trials , meetings and hearings . They may investigate cases and gather all required information to ensure that all relevant facts are considered . They also help in identifying relevant materials , judicial information and identifying appropriate law for assigned cases . After they analyze the required information they may write reports to the attorney (Brian , 2003

Authorization of practice of law to non- lawyers

Unauthorized practice of law is punishable in most nations , it may either be through contempt of the court , through fines and other ways that may be set by the law . Non lawyers are prohibited to perform any duties that are supposed to be done by lawyers including presenting people in courts , giving legal advises , and even setting fees . By doing this is termed as violation the rule of the state . This can only be accepted in some specialized courts allow non lawyer representation by paralegals

It is clearly defined by the law that in regard of signing the pleadings and taking depositions . This task is only performed by attorneys paralegal is allowed to take notes if the attorney is absent and introduced as part of the team . With the increasing of the role of paralegals , number of non-lawyers practitioners increase in return making it hard to monitor the real law practitioners (Bonnie ,1989

Ethical dilemmas that MDPs face

The present rule prohibits lawyers from sharing fee with non-lawyers , this is considered...