Caribbean American lawyers collaborate to educate South Florida community on the “Unlicensed Practice of law”

MIAMI – The Haitian Lawyers Association (HLA) partners with the Caribbean Bar Association and Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. (LSGMI) to host a town hall on the Unlicensed Practice of law.

Immigrant communities in South Florida are often victims of the unlicensed practice of law by people representing themselves as attorneys or as professionals who can handle their legal problems. This happens in a variety of cases and most often in immigration cases. Representing yourself as an attorney, proving legal advice, and filling out a government application on behalf of someone else is illegal. Being employed as a paralegal, a document preparer, or a notary without the proper certification and supervision by a licensed attorney is a third degree felony in the state of Florida. HLA, CBA, and LSGMI invite the general public to take part of a town hall to discuss these issues.

The event will take place on Thursday November 14, 2013 from 6pm to 8pm at 3000 Biscayne Blvd, Suite 500, Miami, Florida 33137. The Honorable Fred Seraphin, Miami-Dade County Court Judge, will facilitate our panel discussion.

The featured panelists are attorney Lissette Labrousse, attorney Jacquelyn Needleman, attorney Jaime Raich, and Mr. Rodolfo Nunez. Ms. Labrousse is a Senior Staff Attorney at LSGMI. Ms. Needleman is a Florida Bar Attorney working at the Miami Unlicensed Practice of Law office. Mr. Raich is a Deputy Chief at the US Attorney’s Office. Mr. Nunez is the current Branch Chief for the Miami United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office.

The goal of the event is to educate the public and provide guidance. We encourage the general public to attend and to contact us for more information.