Connecticut Unauthorized Practice Laws and Some Options for Their Reform

Abstract

This article has two principal objectives: to briefly summarize Connecticut laws of unauthorized law practice and to set forth many of the options available to Connecticut lawmakers for revising or clarifying the state's unauthorized practice laws. In many important respects Connecticut unauthorized practice laws are unduly ambiguous, uncertain, and much in need of clarification. Also, some Connecticut unauthorized practice laws are clear and certain probably should be revised, better adapted to current needs, including exclusion from the legal services' market those providers who it now appears are unqualified or untrustworthy. Unauthorized practice laws are essential to our legal order as they largely determine who may provide legal services and to whom. Given their significance, it is particularly important that these laws be clear, complete, and up-to-date in meeting contemporary needs.