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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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H&amp;R Block announced in January that it would offer immigration document preparation services in some of its Texas stores. &nbsp;The business model depended on customers going into the stores, where &ldquo;trained immigration assistants&rdquo; would help them use proprietary computer software to fill out the forms.
After barely getting off the ground<img style="max-width: 100%;height: auto;max-width: 100%;height: auto" loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1559" src="https://www.thelawforlawyerstoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/754/2015/03/Immigration-300x199.jpg" alt="U.S. Department of Homeland Security Logo" width="300" height="199">, though, the tax-help giant has now quietly exited the field, apparently under pressure from the immigration bar, which voiced concern about the new service being the unauthorized practice of law (UPL).
Is H&amp;R Block&rsquo;s retreat a blow to under-served legal consumers? &nbsp;Or have consumers been safeguarded from potential problems and mistakes caused by non-lawyers?
Over on the <a href="http://www.elawyeringredux.com/2015/03/articles/competition/hr-block-shuts-down-immigrant-document-service/">e-lawyering blog</a>, Richard Granat wrote &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not clear where there is any UPL violation, as the Immigrant Assistants were simply helping users navigate through the software rather than provide any legal advice.&rdquo; &nbsp;(Granat is a lawyer who also operates two companies that run &ldquo;intelligent legal form web sites.&rdquo;)
Granat quoted a report by the executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association to the AILA&rsquo;s board of directors, saying the program&rsquo;s cancellation came after &ldquo;some quiet diplomacy,&rdquo; and that the group &ldquo;will continue to work on this issue with other firms that seem poised to cross the UPL line.&rdquo;
But do these kind of services cross the UPL line? &nbsp;It might depend where you sit. &nbsp;As prominent ethics commentator Roy Simon points out <a href="http://www.legalethicsforum.com/blog/2015/02/hr-block-immigration-document-services.html">here</a>, Texas has a 1999 statute that he says exempts &ldquo;&lsquo;software&rsquo; and other computer related things&rdquo; from the definition of legal practice. &nbsp;And in the case of H&amp;R Block&rsquo;s program, it might have come down to whether &ldquo;immigration assistants&rdquo; could stick to advising users solely on using the software, or whether that necessarily also would involve substantive &mdash; legal &mdash; advice on what to put on the complicated forms.
Making an ill-advised entry on these forms could potentially impact the substantive rights of someone filling them out.
This is hardly going to be the last word in the unauthorized practice wars, but it is an interesting development and possibly points to the next front in the battle.
&nbsp;

core/freeform

Ethics

Legal Ethics, Professional Responsibility and the Business of Law

Unauthorized practice?  H&R Block exits immigration form business under Bar pressure