Unauthorized Practice of Law (Upl)

UNAUTHORIZED

PRACTICE

OF

LAW

By: Janet Lewis

Unit 8

August 31, 2010

"Unauthorized practice of law occurs when a person is seeking legal advice from a person who he/she knows has legal knowledge but who is not a lawyer."1

The unauthorized practice of law (UPL) is one of the greatest concerns to those in the paralegal

field. They do not have to concern paralegals, however, when they understand what UPL is and

how they can avoid it. Nonlawyers potentially practice law when:

1. Give legal advice;

2. Create legal documents for others; and

3. Represent others in Court.

To better understand what UPL is, let's define practice of law. Practice of law is the application of a rule of law to a particular person's fact pattern and giving a response or opinion, whether orally or in the form of a document.

Facts: Mr. Stan Smith calls his friend, Polly Paralegal, and leaves a message asking, "Do the

grounds for divorce in North Carolina include adultery?"

Later that day, Mrs. Stan Smith calls Polly Paralegal and leaves a message asking, "Do I have

grounds for divorce in North Carolina? I just found out that Stan committed adultery."

Questions:

If Polly Paralegal answers Mr. Smith's questions, will she have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law? Explain and support your answer with information from at least one authoritative reference source.

If Polly Paralegal answers Mrs. Smith's question, will she have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law? Explain and support your answer with information from at least one authoritative reference source.

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With these two scenarios, you have to take into the consideration the point of view of the person asking for legal advice and the point of view of the person giving the advice.

1 E-book, Chapter 2 Unauthorized Practice of Law, Page 41

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