Some of you will have seen the following in your various SIS
newsletters, but I am repeating the plea here in hopes of picking
up additional interesting stories. I apologize for any duplication.
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Have you ever been in a situation in which you felt that you
were treading the fine line between legal reference and
unauthorized practice of law? If so, I need your input to prepare
a program for the upcoming AALL convention.
The program (entitled "Unauthorized Practice of Law: Can You
Stop Worrying and Help the Patron?" and cosponsored by the
Reader Services, Legal Information Services to the Public and
Contemporary Social Problems SIS's) will explore whether the
enforcers of UPL laws are concerned about what goes on in law
libraries, and what the chances are that law librarians will
prosecuted. We plan to ask our panelists (who will include a
county law librarian, a prosecutor from the Consumer Fraud
Division of the San Francisco DA's office and a the Assistant Bar
Counsel for Ethics and the Unauthorized Practice of Law of the
Virginia State Bar) to comment on scenarios which raise the
question "was the librarian just doing reference-or was she
committing a crime." But to do this, we need the scenarios.
Here's how you can help: Just send me a brief description of a
reference transaction that raises the specter of unauthorized
practice of law. The following would be particularly useful
information: how the patron phrased his/her request; what, if
anything, the librarian said about his/her authority (or lack
thereof) to practice law; whether the librarian suggested that the
patron consult a lawyer; how the librarian ultimately dealt with
the patron's request.
Hypotheticals are as welcome as true stories. Anonymous
submissions will be accepted, as will submissions in which
names or details have been altered to protect the worried or
guilty.
Please send your submissions to:
Lee Ryan
University of San Francisco Law Library
Kendrick Hall
2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117-1080
Fax: (415) 666-2345
e-mail/Internet: RYAN@ALM.ADMIN.USFCA.EDU
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