"He walked around wearing a shirt and tie … and identified himself as a lawyer, I'm sure others may have fallen for his scam," said Broward Sheriff's Office Economic Crimes Detective John Calabro. Excerpt from "North Lauderdale man arrested on charge of impersonating lawyer" (Orlando Sentinel)
But I think the "sophisticated" touch that "impressed" even the detective was the business card identifying the alleged thief and impersonator as "Dr." - as well as "Ph.D., E. JD Attorney at Law."
Okay, I'll confess my ignorance. I had to look up EJD, which I think stands for Executive Juris Doctor, or worse...
(You might want to stop reading here, because the rest of the post, which was just supposed to contain the one quote, is about the addictive nature of Google and the many virtual roads you can choose to travel if you can't just walk away from your computer at 11 p.m.)
Lawyer Central has a "verified" profile for an individual in the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida area with the same name and initials as the accused (I need to get out more 'cause I didn't know there was a Who's Who in the World), with a link to a business website for an individual with the same name and even more initials, i.e. J.S.D.-MD.R. (the last being a very versatile acronym, my fave being Miniature Donkey Registry.) The site shares links to almost 40 impressive institutions, including MIT, the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (which at first I thought was for astronauts but after attempting to speed-read the site, now have no idea who it's for), the National Republican Congressional Committee, FindLaw and yep, the Florida Sheriffs Association. The site states the individual is registered and good standing with the listed organizations, as well as The Florida Bar (a lawyer search for this name yielded no results, at least not as of the time of this post).
Word to the wise, it's always a seriously bad sign when your lawyer's website has Google banner ads at the top.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the alleged victim began to suspect his lawyer's credentials when he spotted him looking intoxicated at a bus stop - and when a paralegal also said he wasn't a lawyer. The alleged victim filed a complaint with The Florida Bar, which in turn notified the local sheriff's office.
Despite the suit and tie, but probably with the help of the initials and jaw-dropping credentials, the possessor of the alleged multiple doctorates has been charged with two felonies, grand theft and UPL, and as of the date the news article was published, was being held on $10,000 bond.
On the bright side, at least this guy didn't tell anyone he was a paralegal.
Source: Orlando Sentinel
9 comments:
It is scary how easy it is for these people to pull the wool over so many eyes simply by looking the part. If the business card says it, it must be true, right?
Good story! Thanks.
http://www.newyorkparalegalblog.com/2011/04/todays-quote-looking-for-lawyer-ware.html
Mel, it's so nice to see you! I miss you but enjoy your FB updates :)
I'm surprised all those initials FIT on a business card :o
Joel, thanks for linking to this post. I mainly blog because no way I can make this stuff up ;)
One of our firm's clients asked me if I was a lawyer when I was notarizing a release for them. I said, "no, I'm a paralegal." Her reply, "well you're dressed like a lawyer."
Ummmm ???
Rengel, I've heard other paralegals say they've been asked if they were lawyers because they were wearing suits. It's amazing how much a blazer inflates your professional stature, at least with Joe Public!
The Ohio Supreme Court televises some of it's sessions locally on our PBS station and this post reminds me of one that I saw recently.
There was a man who had been previously sanctioned for UPL and for using JD and Esq. to identify himself. Part of the catch was that he did in fact have a law degree from Columbia University, but had never been admitted to any Bar in the country.
The best part about that one was that in his latest matter, he indicated that he was unaware that the Ohio Supreme Court told him to STOP using those titles in any way because he was in prison and never received notice.
I love these kinds of stories. They remind me how grateful I am to be working for an exceedingly ethical attorney!
Sharon
Sharon, not because he didn't have a license, but because he was in PRISON! I admit to falling out of my chair laughing - thanks for sharing!
yeh Lynne, especially when the secretaries and paralegal dress better than the female attorneys! I went to court with one of our attorneys and they thought SHE was my assistant! Go figure
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