Opinion ID: 1921333
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: performing acts which may be performed by laymen

Text: The precise question of the extent to which a disbarred or suspended lawyer may perform acts which when performed by licensed attorneys constitute a part of their practice of law, but which acts are also sometimes lawfully performed by laymen, has been directly decided twice by closely divided courts. In State v. Butterfield, supra , by a 4-to-3 majority, and in Houts v. State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n, supra , by a 5-to-4 majority, it was held that suspended or disbarred attorneys may not perform acts which are usually performed by attorneys in the active practice of law and which, when performed by licensed attorneys, would constitute a part of their practice of law, even though laymen may on occasion perform the same acts without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. Such acts include, for example, selecting printed legal forms and filling them out, and preparing tax returns. Justice Brower, concurring in part and dissenting in part in Butterfield, alluded to the fact that Butterfield alleged that he had performed certain acts in his capacity as a licensed real estate broker, real estate agent, abstracter, and notary public, and then went on to say: In some instances one's law practice is his principal occupation and the other occupations are but incidents to it. In others the occupation of a broker, land agent, and income tax accountant constitute the major portion of one's business. I cannot believe that one must desist from vital matters in such other occupations in which he is engaged to permit hope of reinstatement, . . . 111 N.W.2d at 551. We are inclined to agree with that statement.