Unlicensed 'Lawyer' Allegedly Practiced for a Decade in 10 States
For the past decade or so, Howard Kieffer has reportedly represented clients in federal cases in 10 states. The problem is, he reportedly wasn’t properly licensed to practice law in any of them—or, apparently, anywhere else.
During that time, Kieffer, who is now in his early 50s, represented clients including “a former St. Louis Blues hockey player who pleaded guilty to plotting to kill his agent, and a Colorado woman who was convicted of soliciting the murder of her former husband,” according to the Associated Press.
A Minnesota resident, Kieffer is now charged in federal court there with mail fraud and impersonating a lawyer, reports the Duluth News Tribune (reg. req.).
“Before his legal troubles, Kieffer was thought to be one of the most respected authorities on federal prisons and sentencing laws, being quoted as an expert in several stories in newspapers and Web sites such as the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Washington Post, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Slate.com,” the Minnesota newspaper reports.
In fact, he is something of an expert on prisons: Kieffer is an ex-con who has been convicted of theft and filing false tax returns, the article says.
Earlier coverage:
Denver Post: “Feds probing ‘attorney’ who tried case here”
ABAJournal.com: “Non-Lawyer Disbarred By Federal Court in N.D.”
