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Pennsylvania Bar Association
Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) Committee Formal Opinion 2006-01
Unauthorized
Practice of Immigration Law by Non-Attorneys and Unauthorized
Practice of Law Generally by Notaries Public
Adopted November 8, 2006
(Below is Text with Endnotes and
Supporting Brief Redacted. Full
opinion is available.)
The Pennsylvania Bar Association
Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) Committee has received complaints
over the past several years concerning practice of immigration law
by non-attorneys who have not been authorized by the federal
government to represent persons in immigration proceedings or to
practice immigration law
In addition, to formal complaints to the committee, community
agencies, consular representatives of the Mexican government, and
attorneys active in immigrant communities have informally indicated
that this problem is widespread in scope in many areas in the
state.
The Committee has
received information suggesting that non-attorneys including “visa
consultants” based outside of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are
practicing or seeking to practice immigration law in Pennsylvania.
This includes internet advertising soliciting such business.
Some
of the complaints received by the Committee and county bar
associations in relationship to non-attorney practice of law in
immigrant communities have involved Pennsylvania licensed notary
publics who have sought to benefit from the fact that “notarios” or
“notario publico” in many civil law countries, particularly in Latin
America, are required to be attorneys.
The
Committee issues this formal opinion to clarify the extremely
limited scope of non-attorney practice of law and legal
representation permissible under federal law and to provide notice
of its intention to actively pursue unauthorized practiced of
immigration law by any persons not authorized to practice law by
federal regulations.
The Committee shall
pursue the unauthorized practice of law generally by notaries public
and others misrepresenting themselves to consumers as having legal
skills or knowledge.
The
Pennsylvania Bar Association Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL)
Committee finds:
1. Except to the limited extent that federal regulations
permit accredited representatives of qualified non-profit
organizations to practice and represent persons in immigration
related proceedings, persons who are not attorneys licensed to
practice law may not provide legal advice or regular representation
in relationship to immigration proceedings.
2. Notaries public, visa consultants or any other person who
is not a licensed attorney or authorized representative pursuant to
federal regulations may not engage in the representation of persons
as defined in federal immigration regulations. The scope of the
term “representation" is a very broad one. It includes activities
which range from incidentally preparing papers for a person,
selecting the appropriate government forms, to giving a person
advice about his or her case, or to appearing before immigration
officials on behalf of a person.
3. Any persons, including notaries public and visa
consultants, other than licensed attorneys or accredited
representatives of qualified non-profit organizations who assist in
the completion of blank spaces on printed United States Customs and
Immigration Service forms shall charge remuneration, if any, that is
nominal.
4. Any persons other than licensed attorneys or accredited
representatives of qualified non-profit organizations, including
notaries public and visa consultants, who assist in the completion
of blank spaces on printed United States Customs and Immigration
Service forms or other government forms related to immigration
related applications shall advise all persons to whom they provide
assistance that the individual is not qualified in legal matters or
in immigration and naturalization procedure.
5. Persons who assist others in preparing federal government
immigration forms must at all times sign the forms as preparers of
such forms where required to do so by the forms or regulations.
Where a notary public, visa consultant or other person apart from an
accredited representative or attorney prepares forms without signing
such forms as preparers where required to do so, the preparer is
fraudulently hiding a role as a preparer of such forms and
preventing a determination as to whether they are engaged in
unauthorized practice of law.
6. Persons who are authorized to be a “notaries public”
shall not describe themselves in writing or orally as “notarios” or
as a “notario publico” particularly when any person to whom they are
providing or seeking to provide services are persons from Spanish
speaking countries. Such terminology is in direct violation of 42
Pa. C.S.A. § 2524 forbidding the “equivalent in any language” of the
title of lawyer or attorney at law.
7. Violation of these restrictions constitutes unauthorized
practice of law contrary to 42 Pa. C.S.A. Chapter 25 and constitutes
violations of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer
Protection Law.
8. Persons alleging violations of this Formal Opinion may
forward written complaints of violations of this opinion to the
Pennsylvania Bar Association Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL)
Committee, 100 South Street - P.O. Box 186 - Harrisburg, PA
17108-0186, Fax: (717) 238-7182.
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