In the
United States, the practice of law is conditioned upon
admission to practice of law, and specifically
admission to the bar of a particular
state or other territorial
jurisdiction. The
American Bar Association and the
American Law Institute are among the organizations that are concerned with the interests of lawyers as a profession and the promulgation of uniform standards of professionalism and ethics, but regulation of the practice of law is left to the individual states, and their definitions vary.
Unauthorized practice of law "Unauthorized practice of law" (UPL) is an act sometimes prohibited by
statute,
regulation, or court rules.
i.e., it is the doing of a lawyer's or
counselor's work by a non-lawyer for money. What is more controversial is out-of-court activities, particularly drafting of documents and giving advice, and whether that is considered to be unauthorized practice of law. For example, there is a growing conflict between the multijurisdictional practice of law in arbitration proceedings in the financial service industry and state regulation of lawyers. With a few exceptions, the general rule is that an appearance at an arbitration does not constitute the practice of law. The
United States bankruptcy court for the
Eastern District of Tennessee has held that "providing clients with explanations or definitions of such legal terms of art ... is, by itself, giving legal advice."
Texas law generally prohibits a person who is not an attorney from representing a client in a personal injury or property damage matter, and punishes a violation as a misdemeanor. Some states also criminalize the separate behavior of falsely claiming to be lawyer (in Texas, for example, this is a felony if done to obtain economic benefit).
Enforcement Criminal laws and enforcement of "Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL)" statutes is the organized bar's preferred method. In Florida, the unauthorized practice of law is a third degree felony, which is punishable by up to six months in prison and $5000 in fines.
New Jersey has a law which makes it a "
disorderly persons offense" to knowingly to engage in the unauthorized practice of law, and a "crime in the fourth degree" to commit UPL if one (a) creates a false impression that one is a lawyer; (b) derives a benefit from UPL, or (c) causes an injury by UPL. The state has interest in protecting the public from having unqualified persons hold themselves out as licensed professionals, but the existence of laws against unauthorized practice of itself does not guarantee that unlicensed professionals will be detected and those laws enforced.
History and future The American Bar Association proposed model rules regarding the unauthorized practice of law, which Judge
Richard Posner characterized as an attempt to perpetuate a monopoly to the disadvantage of consumers. The judge observed that the legal profession is "a cartel of providers of services relating to society's laws" which cartel's focus is to restrict entry. "Modern economists call it '
rent seeking', but throughout recorded history, skilled crafts and professions have tried to raise their members' incomes by using the power of the state to limit entry." Arizona's statute criminalizing unauthorized practice of law was allowed to lapse from a
sunset law in 1985. Rose suggests that legislative proposals to recriminalize the unauthorized practice of law have heretofore failed because of anti-lawyer sentiment in Arizona politics. Moreover, Rose asserts that resentment lingers from an unpopular interpretation of the old statute in
State Bar v. Arizona Land Title & Trust Co., 90 Ariz. 76 (1961). This ruling imposed sanctions on a title and realty company engaged in drafting contracts. Rose says, "Throughout the country, various jurisdictions have developed numerous tests for defining the practice of law. But none is broader nor more all-encompassing than that articulated in
Arizona Title."
Attorney participation In the United States, the rules of professional conduct generally prohibit an attorney from assisting a non-attorney from engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. An attorney therefore may not partner with or split fees with a non-attorney in the performance of any sort of legal work. Furthermore, an attorney may not employ a disbarred or suspended attorney in a legal practice where former clients of the disbarred or suspended attorney will be represented. ==Singapore==