Also known as: nonlawyers · non-lawyer · non-lawyers · non-attorney
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person who is not licensed to practice law.
Nolan Nunez, a partner at a firm, assigned client intake tasks to Nia Nkosi, a nonlawyer paralegal. Nolan trained Nia on confidentiality rules and reviewed her work weekly. When Nia inadvertently disclosed a client's financial details, Nolan's prior oversight efforts shielded the firm from discipline under the supervision rule.
Nicholas Nunez, a nonlawyer, met with clients seeking divorces and advised them on selecting forms and completing financial disclosures. He prepared the documents and instructed clients on filing deadlines and evidence requirements. A court found Nicholas engaged in unauthorized practice because his advice went beyond mere typing of client-provided information.
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Nikhil Narayan, a lawyer, agreed to pay Nina Nielsen, a nonlawyer marketing consultant, twenty percent of fees from clients she referred for estate planning. The payment was calculated solely as a percentage of collected legal fees with no separate invoice for consulting services. The arrangement violated the prohibition on sharing legal fees with a nonlawyer.
Nathaniel Newman, a nonlawyer claims adjuster employed by an insurer, investigated losses, negotiated settlements with claimants, and charged a contingent fee based on amounts recovered. The state supreme court held that these acts constituted the practice of law. Nathaniel could not enforce his fee contract because nonlawyers are barred from performing such regulated functions.
Northstar Logistics maintained a profit-sharing retirement plan that included its nonlawyer administrative staff. The plan allocated a portion of firm profits to these employees upon retirement. The arrangement complied with the exception permitting nonlawyer employees to participate in compensation or retirement plans even when based on profit sharing.
Nexus Financial, owned by a nonlawyer, proposed forming a partnership with lawyer Nolan Nunez to offer bundled legal and financial services to trucking clients. The partnership would handle regulatory appeals and compliance work that constitutes the practice of law. The proposal violated the rule barring lawyers from forming partnerships with nonlawyers when any partnership activity involves practicing law.
A payment calculated solely as a percentage of collected legal fees and tied directly to clients who retain the lawyer violates the prohibition. The rule bars such divisions even when the nonlawyer provides separate nonlegal services, unless one of the narrow exceptions applies.
Yes. The rules expressly permit a lawyer or law firm to include nonlawyer employees in compensation or retirement plans even when the plan is based in whole or in part on profit sharing.
Preparing legal documents and advising clients about legal remedies, procedures, evidence, and filing requirements constitutes unauthorized practice. Nonlawyers may only type forms that clients have already completed without guidance.
Yes. A lawyer may not form a partnership with a nonlawyer if any of the partnership's activities consist of the practice of law.
A lawyer with direct supervisory authority must make reasonable efforts to ensure the nonlawyer's conduct complies with the lawyer's professional obligations.
…Draft 1972); 1 W. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 3.2(e) (1978). We also have recognized that affidavits "are normally drafted by nonlawyers in the midst and haste of a criminal investigation. Technical requirements of elaborate specificity once enacted under common law pleadings have no proper place in this area." United…