On Tuesday, August 30, 2011, the North Carolina
State Bar Ethics Committee issued the following opinion -
Opinion rules that a lawyer may not allow a
person who is not employed by or affiliated with the lawyer’s firm to use firm
letterhead.
By further definition - Rule 8.4(c). A recipient of a letter on a law
firm’s letterhead assumes that the letter was written by a firm lawyer or by an
employee or affiliate of the firm who is acting under the authority,
supervision, and control of a firm lawyer. If a person who is not employed or
formally affiliated with the firm sends a letter on firm letterhead, it creates
the false impression that the person has the authority to act on behalf of the
law firm and is being supervised by a firm lawyer. In the worst case, the
recipient may falsely assume that the sender is a lawyer with the firm. A
lawyer may not participate actively or passively in this deception. If a lawyer
learns that someone who is not employed or affiliated with the firm is using
firm letterhead to write to third parties, the lawyer must take steps to stop
the misuse of the letterhead.
Really? The lawyers practicing in North
Carolina needed to be told this? Just where
did these people go to law school? Everyone
I know past the age of 18 has some type of letterhead. For most, it is their checkbook. Yes, that is the shortest form of letterhead commonly
found in our society. It has your name,
personal information, date, signature, and a demand note addressed to the
bank. It is a letterhead telling the
bank to transfer funds from one account to another or convert funds to
cash. A third grader knows not to give his/her
neighborhood friends Daddy's blank checks so they can all fill them out and run
to the candy store. Furthermore, an
attorney's letterhead is like a doctor's prescription pad. I don't think anyone has ever heard a doctor
saying ... "Here ... take a couple of these prescription pads ... if your
back hurts ... just write yourself a note to your boss ... oh and here is some
stationary in case you need something more official". Yet the North Carolina State Bar Ethics
Committee felt it necessary to publish an opinion stating the more than obvious
to the state's practicing attorneys.
The translation is - the act of letting an outsider use your
letterhead is not only stupid, it is so stupid ... that if you get caught doing
it ... you will be sanctioned, punished, and possibly disbarred.
Hmmmm .... is that the real translation???
I mean come on ... do you think anyone really came to an
"Ethics" meeting ... and said - "Hey ya'll, I got a good idea
... How 'bout we don't share letterhead with people we don't know or those who
do not work for us?
OR ... did some high ranking member of the "Good Ole
Boys Club" get caught? Was letterhead
used by a mistress or lover? Was letterhead
used by an embarrassing club, association, political, or activist group? Was (or is) someone about to be exposed? Think about it ... the North Carolina State
Bar issues an opinion and any potential "prior" culprit who is a high ranking member of the
"Good Ole Boys Club" is now off the hook. After all, when confronted or if (or when) it
becomes public ... it happened before the opinion was published. "If the glove doesn't fit ... you have
to acquit".
Of course, if it had been a low ranking, sole practitioner
who passed out his/her stationary, I suspect the consequences would have been
much different. Sanctions at the very
least. Public humiliation and possible
fines. If that attorney was already
blacklisted by the "Good Ole Boys Club" they might even be disbarred.
Now, take it to the next level. Consider the common citizen. Sure sounds, to me, like forgery, deception,
or fraud (punishable crimes). I'm not an
attorney, nor am I trying to pretend to be one.
But I am a smart enough individual to see, not only a double standard
... but a triple standard exists. Was
this new opinion borne from some kind of a cover up scheme or perhaps from a much
needed emergency damage control plan?
From my experiences and observations, the "Good Ole
Boys" get their dirty laundry swept under the filth ridden carpets of the
North Carolina State Bar. The
"other" attorneys have a secret hearing rather than a public trial. The common citizen is forced to have a trial
in a public courtroom while fleecing attorneys take their money. If you are pro se, your chances of a positive outcome are slim. This is the North Carolina
"Justice" system in a nutshell.
Some State Bars have an Open Policy.
Every document (and e-mail) in ... and every document (e-mail) out of
the State Bar is public information.
Rather difficult to have a "Good Ole Boys Club" when
everything is exposed. (Isn't this really
why North Carolina has a closed system?)
This is exactly why drastic changes are needed. It is time to throw out those filthy, stained
carpets at the North Carolina State Bar (and those that utilize them).
In other words ... it is time to clean house ... from Top to Bottom!
It is a public duty to expose these "Violators of
Decency" to make sure they do NOT become (or get re-elected) as Judges,
Politicians, Board members, members of public interest committees, or
participate in ANY steering committee of ANY kind.
That's my opinion,
Gary G. Gleason
Legal Justice Corporation
www.legaljusticecorp.com
* Legal Justice Corp. is a bona fide corporation and does not
provide legal advice and any dialogue (written or verbal) should not be viewed or considered to be legal advice. Legal
advice should be provided by a licensed attorney you have found to represent your case either via fee or pro
bono. Opinions posted on this site are solely those of the Legal Justice
Corporation and do not claim to be citing law or ethical statutes of law
... just common sense and common decency. We strongly encourage any person feeling they
are a victim of poor legal ethics, misrepresentation, overcharging of fees,
bullying, or suspected malpractice to contact a worthy attorney at
once.
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