California Assembly member Roger Dickinson is carrying Assembly Bill 888 to provide the State Bar of California with stronger enforcement tools to battle the unauthorized practice of law. This bill is being sponsored by the State Bar of California because although the unauthorized practice of law is already a crime, the State Bar has little authority to stop the practice since it cannot prosecute and enforce criminal laws. Assembly Bill 888 would give the Bar the authority to seek attorney fees, investigative costs and civil penalties – including restitution for victims – when it goes to court to stop a non-lawyer from practicing law.
AB 888 allows the State Bar in an action arising from an unauthorized practice of law to obtain the same relief of civil penalties, costs and attorneys’ fees, and remedies for consumers that courts may now award in civil enforcement actions by the Attorney General, district attorneys and city attorneys. If the State Bar turns over its investigation to the Attorney General, a DA or some other local prosecutor, the State Bar would also be among the licensing entities that could recover the costs of its investigation.
The limit of the State Bar’s current authority was recently highlighted by post-foreclosure scams where businesses would promise to help homeowners remain in their homes for a period of time after they had already been foreclosed on. The perpetrators acted as attorneys and accepted payment for services that they did not provide. Often the perpetrators will move to a different location and set up a new shop. While the State Bar currently has the power to bring a civil action in the superior court to enjoin any violation resulting in an unauthorized practice of law, this action is limited because it does not allow the State Bar to recover civil penalties, including sanctions for violating an injunction.
The Assembly Third Reading analysis of AB 888 cited to a 2004 Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office briefing manual, entitled “Unauthorized Practice of Law Manual for Prosecutors,” which provided background, history and the types of modern problems facing the enforcement of the unauthorized practice of law.
Currently Assembly Bill 888 has passed out of the Assembly and is likely to be assigned to the Senate Committee on Judiciary. The California Association of Legal Document Assistants oppose this bill.