Thursday, April 27, 2006

Couple charged for not using lawyers

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

The Cleveland Bar Association is threatening to fine the parents of an autistic boy $10,000 for not hiring a lawyer when they brought, and largely won, a court case on their son's behalf four years ago.

After a long court battle, Brian and Susan Woods settled their case with the Akron school district in 2002 when the district agreed to send Daniel, now 11, to a private school.

But in February, the Cleveland Bar Association took issue with the Woodses' handling parts of that case themselves and not through a lawyer.

The bar charged them with unauthorized practice of law and threatened a $10,000 fine, saying that although the Woodses were allowed to represent themselves, they could not act as lawyers for their son. The charge is normally filed against nonlawyers who provide legal services for pay, but is rare against parents.

So rare, in fact, that no one the reporter asked, including the American Bar Association and the Ohio bar's Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, could recall a single case.

Read on and discover that the Cleveland Bar Association is already involved in a legal battle with Mr. Woods on the separate matter of allegedly advising another family at their son's school in their lawsuit. But I'm sure the unheard of charge being leveled against Mr. Woods has nothing to do with getting some leverage in their other case, and absolutely nothing to do with the lucrative fees generated by winning suits against school districts. No, I'm sure they're all about the good of the children.

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