Turner v. Ky. Bar Ass'n - 980 S.W.2d 560 (Ky. 1998)

Rule:

Legal representation by a lay person before an adjudicatory tribunal, however informal, is not permitted by Ky. Sup. Ct. R. 3.700, as such representation involves advocacy that would constitute the practice of law.

Facts:

After the legislature enacted Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 342.320(9), which authorized non-lawyer service representatives to represent injured workers, employers, and insurance carriers in proceedings before the Department of Workers' Claims, respondent bar association issued an advisory opinion disallowing the use of non-lawyers in any capacity as service representatives. Movants, commissioner of the workers' claims department and workers' compensation specialists, sought review of the opinion.

Issue:

Did the performance of specific tasks by non-lawyer "workers' compensation specialists", as outlined in KRS 342.329(1) (a)-(e), constitute the unauthorized practice of law?

Answer:

Yes.

Conclusion:

The court affirmed the opinion in part and reversed in part, finding that most of the duties of service representatives, primarily administrative, did not constitute the practice of law, and if they did, they were properly supervised by an attorney. However, the court found that their representation of clients before the department was the unauthorized practice of law. Thus, the court declared the portion of statute that allowed such representation, § 342.320(9), unconstitutional, concluding that the legislature exceeded its authority by enacting a statute that infringed upon the power of the judicial branch to regulate the practice of law.