Hawaii Lawyers Trying to Maintain Their Monopoly
Law.Com reports that the Hawaii Bar Association has petitioned the Hawaii Supreme Court to expand on its authorized practice rules in a way that would prohibit non-lawyer legal document preparers.
Bar Association President Jeffrey Sia said the "motive is not greed, but the protection of the public." Does he have any empirical evidence to back up this position -- of course not!!
When the Massachusetts Bar Association tried to pass a similar rule expanding the definition of the Unauthorized Practice of Law, the US Department of Justice and the US Federal Trade Commission sent an advisory letter to the MBA suggesting that there was no consumer benefit in the expanded rule and that it would be anti-competitive. The FTC stated that there was no justification for such a rule in the absence of substantial consumer injury would could be documented. I wonder how the FTC will respond to this latest effort by the organized bar to restrict consumer choice.
