'I told him I wanted $5,000': Guy catches a lawyer practicing without a license

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Feb 17, 2024 3:00 PM EST

Lawyers have a certain reputation for being a little shady. This reputation isn't representative of all lawyers, but there are always a handful of them who prey on people. When people come to lawyers, they're at a point of desperation—maybe they've been in a car crash, or they're going through a messy divorce, or they're squabbling with their landlord. Most folks out there just don't know much about the law, and they rely heavily on their lawyers to sort it out for them. 

Not only are legal issues complex, they can take years to sort out. Even if you wanted to understand all the legal jargon involved, it just might not be possible for someone who didn't finish law school. Like this dude. One lawyer was pretending that he was a lawyer already. But in reality, he hadn't taken the bar exam! Even those of us who know nothing about law know that the bar exam is how future lawyers prove their knowledge. We have a feeling this guy won't be working in the field of law for very long, though, especially after being caught so quickly and easily by u/NullGWard. 

After you read up on this person's story, take a peek at these times the great outdoors were rather annoying. 

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  • 01
    'I was upset. I sent him a demand letter stating that I knew what he did'
    via Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash
  • 02
    Sleazy lawyer winds up helping to pay for co- worker's wedding
    via u/NullGWard
  • 03
    When I started working as a lawyer at a large law firm, staff members would often come to me with their legal problems. One day, a quiet young woman from the accounting department came into my office confused about a legal settlement she had gotten.
    via u/NullGWard
  • 04
    The woman had been involved in a very minor car accident. She got talked into signing up with a lawyer whom she never even got to meet. Some time after that, she received a call to come down to the lawyer's office to sign some papers (that she didn't understand), was given a check for about $2,000 by some flunkie, and then sent on her way.
    via u/NullGWard
  • 05
    I borrowed all of her paperwork and figured out what had happened. My co-worker was a victim of a capper scheme, which is when nonlawyers sign up clients for lawyers in return for a financial kickback. (This is generally considered to be unethical and possibly illegal.) Because many of these cases are near worthless, the lawyers quickly settle them for cheap and pocket 33% to 40% as their fee.
    via u/NullGWard
  • 06
    When I checked the State Bar records, I realized that the lawyer had signed the retainer agreement with my co-worker after he had taken the bar exam but BEFORE he had officially become a lawyer. In other words, for several months, he had been illegally practicing law without a license.
    via u/NullGWard
  • 07
    I was upset. I sent him a demand letter stating that I knew what he did. I bluffed him and said that, if he had been a real lawyer the entire time, he would have handled the case properly and would have gotten a much higher settlement. I told him that I wanted $5,000 to compensate my co-worker. (It would have been illegal for me to threaten to report him to the State Bar or to the police if he did not pay, but that was the subtext.)
    via u/NullGWard
  • 08
    A few days later, I received a telephone call. Lawyer (in a pleading voice): What do you want? I don't have any malpractice insurance. Me (angrily): I don't want any insurance money. I would be just as happy to put you out of business.
    via u/NullGWard
  • 09
    The next day, I received my demanded settlement check from the lawyer. I walked the check over to the accounting department and gave it to my co- worker. The unexpected extra money came in very handy for her upcoming wedding, to which I was later invited and happily attended.
    via u/NullGWard
  • 10
    (It would have been illegal for the lawyer to demand that I not report him to the State Bar or police in return for the check. Nonetheless, I decided not to report him. I figured that he deserved a second chance and did not want to ruin his life at the start of his legal career.)
    via u/NullGWard
  • 11
    TL;DR: I caught a co-worker's lawyer doing something illegal and got a settlement for her, which helped pay for her wedding.
    via u/NullGWard
  • 12
    S StevenSanders90210. OP? lawyers, right Oh wait... 4 540 Reply shazneg 99% give the rest a bad name.
    via u/StevenSanders90210
  • 13
    Arcturus572 It's probably the rarest thing ever, finding a decent lawyer, but it seems like you are... Thank you for helping your coworker(s) out.…...
    via u/Arcturus572
  • 14
    + [deleted] Just to get that straight - your colleague got a settlement of 2k and you got her an additional 5k?
    via u/[deleted]
  • 15
    One lawyer allows another lawyer to get away with breaking the law for money. Sounds about right. 32 Reply Share Leiryn Yep, everyone has a price
    via r/ProRevenge
  • 16
    hemlocky_ergot I am also calling on this. If it is true I think OP in this case has not followed his duty as an attorney to uphold the integrity of the legal profession.
    via u/hemlocky_ergot
  • 17
    The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 8.3 covers Reporting Professional Misconduct. Specifically the duty to report professional misconduct. ABA Rule 5.5 covers Unauthorized Practice of Law Unauthorized practice of law is actually a very huge deal and is even illegal in some states. Most
    via u/hemlocky_ergot
  • 18
    lawyers, bar associations, and judges are actually very vigilant about the unauthorized practice of law. I have been a paralegal/legal assistant for almost 10 years now. I am so terrified of accidently presenting myself as an attorney that I sign every single letter indicating my title as legal
    via u/hemlocky_ergot
  • 19
    assistant/paralegal and advise everyone on the telephone that I am not a lawyer. It's a very big deal. OP- if this really did go down you broke a ton of the ABA's model rules of professional conduct and in the future you should really consider reporting unethical lawyers like that to the bar association, as that attorney may go on to
    via u/hemlocky_ergot
  • 20
    prey on other victims and should be punished for their misconduct.
    via u/hemlocky_ergot
  • 21
    ThePlaytupus you did was blackmail the guy for your own parties gain, instead of reporting him through the correct process All
    via u/ThePlaytupus
  • 22
    [deleted] You made him pay for his mistake but sympathized with him at the same time. Nice.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 23
    TREURS FINE OF Biscuits UndGravy. You realize you violated your own ethical obligation by not reporting the misconduct to the state bar, right? I hope you haven't told this story in real life or you're putting yourself at risk.
    via u/Biscuits UndGravy

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