Not UPL: Suspended Lawyer's 'Somewhat Lawyerly' Tone, Threat to Go 'Mano a Mano' Post-Reinstatement
A Colorado attorney working as a paralegal after his law license was suspended has been cleared of legal ethics allegations concerning correspondence he wrote on behalf of a client under the supervision of another attorney.
While Matthew Smith’s letters to opposing counsel took a “somewhat lawyerly” tone, the Colorado Hearing Board last month dismissed (PDF) the legal ethics complaint against Smith, saying that he was forthright about his unlicensed status and was working for a licensed lawyer at the time.
Likewise, the board also apparently was not persuaded that Smith’s threat in correspondence to go “mano a mano” with opposing counsel, once his license is reinstated, amounts to unauthorized practice of law,. However, the board did call the comment an “unwise speculation,” notes the Legal Profession Blog.
