Opinion ID: 1989786
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: in re approval and appointment of authorized attorneys

Text: In the case In re Approval and Appointment of Authorized Attorneys, case No. S-98-775 (Authorized Attorneys), the Douglas County Public Defender's office, on behalf of its clients, filed motions in district court to disqualify all attorneys employed by PSI in child support cases in which both PSI and the public defender represented parties (365 cases). The motions alleged that the opposing attorneys' employer, PSI, was practicing law but did not comply with the Nebraska Supreme Court's Professional Service Corporations rule and that thus, PSI was committing the unauthorized practice of law, in violation of Neb.Rev.Stat. § 7-101 (Reissue 1997). The motions also alleged that PSI and/or the attorneys it employed were violating the Nebraska Code of Professional Responsibility, Canon 3, DR 3-102(A), which prohibits the sharing of fees with a nonlawyer, and Canon 5, DR 5-107(C)(2), which prohibits the practice of law within a corporate form wherein a nonlawyer is a corporate director or officer. Subsequently, Legal Aid Society (Legal Aid), on behalf of its clients, filed motions in the district court to disqualify PSI in paternity actions in which it and PSI were representing parties (36 cases). The motions alleged that PSI was engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. In addition, Legal Aid moved the court to consolidate its motions to disqualify with the public defender's motions, which the court granted.