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Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 11 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

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<a href="https://www.thelawforlawyerstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/754/2016/02/Curse-Words.jpg"><img style="max-width: 100%;height: auto;max-width: 100%;height: auto" loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2317" src="https://www.thelawforlawyerstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/754/2016/02/Curse-Words-300x264.jpg" alt="Color speech bubbles with censored swearing words" width="300" height="264"></a>Be aware of your jurisdiction&rsquo;s limits on what a &ldquo;retired&rdquo; lawyer can and cannot do, and obey them&nbsp;&mdash; or risk being tagged for the unauthorized practice of law.&nbsp;&nbsp; And,&nbsp;oh yeah &mdash; communicate politely.&nbsp; That&rsquo;s a&nbsp; dual lesson a lawyer in Illinois may be about to learn, according to a disciplinary <a href="http://www.iardc.org/15PR0117CM.html">complaint </a>filed in December.
Retired status
The lawyer was admitted to practice in 1965.&nbsp; In January 2013, he registered as &ldquo;inactive,&rdquo; which allowed him to pay a reduced yearly registration fee, but made him ineligible to practice.&nbsp;&nbsp;A few months later he reactivated his license.&nbsp; Then, in December 2014, the lawyer registered as &ldquo;retired,&rdquo; which again made him ineligible to practice.
Nonetheless, in January 2015, the lawyer agreed to represent a client on a post-dissolution child-visitation petition, pro bono.&nbsp; He told opposing counsel he represented the client, and engaged in negotiations over a period of about&nbsp;three months.&nbsp; Two days before the initial court date, the lawyer revealed to opposing counsel that he was retired, and therefore no longer appeared in court, &ldquo;but hoped that the parties would be able to settle matters out of court.&rdquo;&nbsp; Opposing counsel then told the lawyer that if he was on&nbsp;retired status, &ldquo;he was not authorized to practice and she could no longer speak to him regarding the matter.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Good ... Luck, Sweetie.&rdquo;
The lawyer persisted in trying to settle the matter; opposing counsel again refused to participate.&nbsp; That apparently touched a nerve.&nbsp; The lawyer e-mailed&nbsp;opposing counsel, including the following:
&ldquo;Done! You persuaded me. I am fucking done communicating with youse ...lawyer babe. ... GOOD FUCKING LUCK, SWEETIE!!!&mdash;stanley.&rdquo;
Based on this conduct, the state Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission charged the lawyer with unauthorized practice of law (<a href="http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/supremecourt/rules/art_viii/ArtVIII_NEW.htm#5.5">Rule 5.5</a>); dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation, for failing to disclose his registration status (<a href="http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/supremecourt/rules/art_viii/ArtVIII_NEW.htm#8.4">Rule 8.4(c)</a>); and using means of representing the client that had no substantial purpose other than to embarrass and harass, for sending his &ldquo;Good Luck&rdquo; e-mail&nbsp;(<a href="http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/supremecourt/rules/art_viii/ArtVIII_NEW.htm#4.4">Rule 4.4(a)</a>).
There is other misconduct charged in the complaint as well, involving representing various family members while on inactive status.
Lessons learned
There are a couple take-aways from this still-pending disciplinary case.&nbsp; First, forming an attorney-client relationship doesn&rsquo;t depend on payment.&nbsp; Under Illinois rules, it doesn&rsquo;t matter whether you accept payment for your legal services; to provide those services, you&nbsp;must be authorized to practice.
Second, each state has authority to regulate lawyers practicing within its borders; this has&nbsp;resulted in&nbsp;disparate&nbsp;practice rules relating to&nbsp;&ldquo;retired&rdquo; lawyers, &ldquo;inactive lawyers,&rdquo; and similar kinds of bar registration status.
In my home state of Ohio, for instance, our <a href="http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/LegalResources/Rules/govbar/govbar.pdf">Rules for the Government of the Bar</a> make registration as &ldquo;retired&rdquo;&nbsp;irrevocable, and strip a &ldquo;retired&rdquo; lawyer of the ability to practice.&nbsp; With that registration status, you can&rsquo;t be listed as &ldquo;of counsel,&rdquo; or otherwise held out as being able to practice in Ohio, and violations constitute unauthorized practice.
In New York, in contrast, lawyers registered as &ldquo;retired&rdquo; are permitted to practice by <a href="https://govt.westlaw.com/nycrr/Document/I512a4718cd1711dda432a117e6e0f345?viewType=FullText&amp;originationContext=documenttoc&amp;transitionType=CategoryPageItem&amp;contextData=(sc.Default)">statute</a>,&nbsp;but they can&rsquo;t accept compensation, as explained in <a href="http://www2.nycbar.org/Publications/reports/show_html_new.php?rid=403">Formal Opinion 2005-06</a> of the Association for the Bar of the City of New York Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics.
Last, knowing the ins and outs of your registration status and its implications isn&rsquo;t enough.&nbsp; You should also&nbsp;talk nicely to&nbsp;opposing counsel, clients, judges, and everyone you come in contact with.
The license you save may be your own.
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Ethics

Legal Ethics, Professional Responsibility and the Business of Law

“Good … luck sweetie” letter, unauthorized practice, draw discipline complaint