Court Opinion

ID: 9692894
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 16:10:49.27953+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:19:37.476909
License: Public Domain

MURRAY, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully disagree with the majority. I would affirm the trial justice’s decision on the basis that the language in G.L. 1956 (1984 Reenactment) § 42-94-5, as amended by P.L. 1986, ch. 1, § 3, allows a group of nonlicensed employees to perform duties which are equivalent to those reserved for qualified, licensed attorneys. Employee assistants who engage in the unauthorized practice of law serve to the detriment of the public, and this court, by permitting such conduct, compromises established professional standards requisite for the proper administration of justice.
*667In Rhode Island Bar Association v. Automobile Service Association, 55 R.I. 122, 179 A. 139 (1935), Justice Condon adopted the following language in addressing the activities of a lawyer: “The work of the office lawyer is the groundwork for future possible contests in courts. It has profound effect on the whole scheme of the administration of justice. It is performed with that possibility in mind, and otherwise would hardly be needed. * * * It is of importance to the welfare of the public that these manifold customary functions be performed by persons possessed of adequate learning and skill, of sound moral character, and acting at all times under the heavy trust obligation to clients which rests upon all attorneys.” 55 R.I. at 134-35, 179 A. at 144.
When a worker sustains an injury during the course of employment, he or she may initiate a claim for compensation benefits subject to the provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act. A claimant’s rights and obligations are predicated on state statute and are set forth in G.L. 1956 (1986 Reenactment) §§ 28-35-29 to 38 (inclusive). Under the present statutory scheme it is required that the department director assign an employee assistant to each case scheduled for an informal hearing. An informal hearing is scheduled when an employee claims compensation and an employer files a notice of controversy. Clearly upon the filing of the notice of controversy and after an informal hearing has been scheduled, an adversarial proceeding has been established. It is imperative that the rights of the parties be protected.
A claimant must proceed in a forum unfamiliar to a layperson, and invariably the claimant will need assistance regarding the rights and obligations attendant to the compensation claim. However, at this stage in the proceeding the statute provides that an employee assistant be available to assist the claimant to prepare the claim and also to represent him or her at the informal hearing. There is no persuasive evidence to demonstrate that employee assistants who are not licensed attorneys can provide legal advice and representation equivalent to that which can be provided by a qualified attorney.
I believe that a licensed attorney, not an employee assistant, should be available “to provide information and assistance for the participants in the workers’ compensation system with particular emphasis on assisting injured workers in receiving benefits in a timely and proper manner,” as mandated in § 42-94-4(f), as amended by P.L. 1985, ch. 365, § 1. An attorney is better qualified to represent a claimant from the time of the initial filing for an informal hearing. The public interest would be better served, and the injured worker would receive competent representation from the commencement of the proceeding to its conclusion.
History demonstrates that the workers’ compensation statute is subject to reenactment and revisions by the Legislature. Statutes are further refined by case law. Allowing employee assistants to provide technical advice and assistance to parties involving their rights and obligations under the act requires the majority to proceed on the premise that the employee assistants are skilled in interpretation of statutes and revisions thereto. It suggests that such employee assistants have an understanding of propositions of law set forth in relevant Supreme Court decisions. On this premise the majority permits the employee assistants to advise members of the public concerning their legal rights in accordance with the employee’s comprehension of the present status of the law. To permit this activity may unwittingly work to the detriment of the public welfare.
Since these employee assistants are now to be vested with the responsibility for interpreting statutes and case law, and monitoring changes by the Legislature in regard to injured workers’ rights; who will counsel these nonlawyer advocates? I suppose the workers’ compensation department will retain a qualified member or members of the bar to reduce the language to layperson’s terms so that the employee assistants will be apprised of changes in the law concerning the rights of the parties. It would be sensible to eliminate an additional layer of personnel and retain at-*668tomeys to serve as assistants to the workers’ compensation department. Qualified attorneys are capable of interpreting statutes and monitoring significant developments in present case law. Thus, the risk of insufficient or incorrect legal advice being conveyed to the public is thereby minimized.
We have held that great and irreparable harm can come to the people by allowing unskilled persons into the practice of law. “ ‘Anything that tends to lower the standards of professional acquirements among those whose duty it is to investigate and defend the rights of others, is to be lamented.’ ” Rhode Island Bar Association, 55 R.I. at 131, 179 A. at 143. Moreover, when an injured worker “ ‘applies to an attorney for advice he should have security, from the attorney’s previous study of his profession, that he is reasonably competent to discharge his trust.’ ” 55 R.I. at 132, 179 A. at 143. In my view, the injured worker, upon invoking the legal rights available under the act, is not wholly secure in procuring advice concerning available legal rights from employee assistants.
It is clear that employee assistants, acting pursuant to statutory language, and as learned from evidence at the proceedings below, perform activities that are within this court’s definition of the practice of law. The majority accepts this conclusion, however opines that duties performed by employee assistants should be permitted and reasons that the interests of the public are better served. It points out that the Legislature authorizes qualified persons to do activities such as accounting, rendering advice on tax matters, and providing insurance and banking services. Concededly, the Legislature, by permitting these activities, effectively promotes the interests of the public by allowing selected professionals who are trained and licensed, or certified, to provide services that inevitably overlap with those considered to be the practice of law.
I am not convinced that employee assistants can be included among the professionals exempted by the Legislature. Compensation legislation is of comparatively recent origin and has developed rapidly owing to modem industrial development. Compensation statutes constantly change in response to present economic conditions, and statutes vary in different jurisdictions. Therefore, qualified attorneys possess the requisite skills necessary to determine a claimant’s statutory rights. Employee assistants can distribute necessary documents to potential claimants and thereafter review the contents to ensure that all relevant information necessary for a determination of legal rights has been properly submitted. Beyond that activity it becomes necessary to analyze the information and formulate a strategy in accordance with available legal rights and obligations. A careful determination of legal consequences requires a skill possessed by a licensed attorney who has experienced the rigors of a legal education and upon examination has been admitted to the bar.
We have held that the “ ‘disposition of such issues for others, by advice and negotiation, for hire, is as much the practice of law as though process and pleadings, with or without trial, were necessary. Counsel as to legal status and rights, and conduct in respect thereto, are as much a special function of the English solicitor and the American lawyer as diagnosis, prognosis, and prescription are in the field of medicine.’ ” 55 R.I. at 136, 179 A. at 145. The majority is of the opinion that employee assistants are able to analyze a claimant’s case, make an adequate determination of legal rights, and thereupon make a representation at an informal hearing. I cannot agree. We have cautioned against misleading “the public into the belief that they are entrusting their causes to those learned in the law and competent to serve them * * Id. at 139, 179 A. at 146. We concluded that this practice “would inevitably result in a deprivation of justice to many in the State.” Id. at 139-40, 179 A. at 146.
Furthermore, the majority focuses on the role of employee assistants to fill in the gap in instances wherein the employer chooses not to be represented by counsel and the employee is confronted with the problem of obtaining an attorney’s services *669at his own expense. I see no advantage in providing less-than-competent legal representation in this instance. Apparently there is no cost effectiveness because oral argument disclosed that the present salaries for employee assistants are not dissimilar to those offered to recent admittees to the bar. The majority attempts to preserve an employee’s right to legal representation by requiring that in the event he or she is denied compensation he or she will be given the opportunity to consult with an attorney of his or her choice in order to determine whether he or she will appeal to the Workers’ Compensation Commission. The financial responsibility for this consultation is assumed by the state.
I think it is unnecessary to delay in providing qualified legal assistance to claimants. Undoubtedly, if a claimant is denied compensation in the first instance and is then asked if he or she would desire to consult an attorney for the purpose of an appeal, the response will be in the affirmative. The benefit of adequate legal representation from the initiation of a compensation claim will afford an injured worker security throughout the course of the proceeding. Consequently a more efficient system will develop by eliminating the cost in effort and time required continually to train laypersons in purely legal related matters.
In Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee v. Employers Unity, Inc., 716 P.2d 460 (Colo.1986), the court allowed individuals to appear at hearings and represent others, conceding that their actions constituted the practice of law. However, in the accepted findings of fact the special master stated that with regard to unemployment-compensation claims, “ ‘the amounts involved do not warrant the employment of an attorney. * * * Because many claimants are reemployed before their 26-week eligibility period expires, it is impossible to predict with any certainty what the aggregate amount of benefits received by a claimant will be.’ ” Id. at 463.
I do not agree with the majority in characterizing a workers’ compensation claim as a trivial matter similar to claims for unemployment compensation. Workers’ compensation claims can be serious to the extent that an individual can be permanently impaired and as a result will never again be gainfully employed. It is an overgenerali-zation to state that the monetary amount at stake consists of small weekly sums and medical expenses. Employees subject to the provisions of G.L.1956 (1986 Reenactment) § 28-29-17, waive their common-law rights to recover damages for personal injuries, and therefore, the compensation scheduled under the act is the sole measure of damage for the employee or the employee’s dependents. For a seriously or permanently disabled worker, the stake is not too insignificant to justify that a claimant should be provided with less-than-adequate legal representation by a qualified, licensed attorney.
The issues presented in the case before us are not dissimilar to the issues in Unauthorized Practice Committee, State Bar of Texas v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47 (Tex.) cert. denied, 474 U.S. 980, 106 S.Ct. 384, 88 L.Ed.2d 337 (1985). The Texas Supreme Court affirmed a trial court judgment holding that as a matter of law the acts and practices of the Cortezes constituted the practice of law. The Cortezes provided immigration services for customers interested in obtaining residency in the United States. Mrs. Cortez testified that she assisted customers in filling out forms required and told them where to file the forms. The court determined that recording responses to questions on the various forms did not require special legal skills. However, beyond this activity the court reasoned, first, that careful determination of legal consequences was required. Second, the court held that advising clients regarding whether they qualified or informing them that no further assistance was available could mislead a customer to believe that no other rights existed. The court held that interviewing clients, preparing immigration forms, and providing advice required legal skills and knowledge. The court stated that inadvertently misleading people is the “type of occurrence which is sought to be prevented by prohib-*670rang the unauthorized practice of law.” Id. at 50.
The employee assistants to the Department of Workers’ Compensation assist claimants in filling out forms and provide advice based on their interpretation of the statute in light of the information supplied by the injured worker. This activity is not in the interests of the public, and I believe that the seven employee assistants to the department should be licensed attorneys in order to reduce the possibility of inadequate legal representation concerning rights provided in the Workers’ Compensation Act.
The compelling reasons for a state supreme court to assume responsibility and monitor intrusions by unlicensed individuals into the practice of law have been addressed. In State of Florida ex rel. The Florida Bar v. Sperry, 140 So.2d 587 (Fla. 1962), vacated on other grounds, 373 U.S. 379, 83 S.Ct. 1322, 10 L.Ed.2d 428 (1963), the court said:
“The reason for prohibiting the practice of law by those who have not been examined and found qualified to practice is frequently misunderstood. It is not done to aid or protect the members of the legal profession either in creating or maintaining a monopoly or closed shop. It is done to protect the public from being advised and represented in legal matters by unqualified persons over whom the judicial department can exercise little, if any control in the matter of infractions of the code of conduct which, in the public interest, lawyers are bound to observe.” 140 So.2d at 595.
Also, in The Florida Bar v. Moses, 380 So.2d 412, 417 (Fla. 1980), the court said: “The single most important concern in the Court’s defining and regulating the practice of law is the protection of the public from incompetent, unethical, or irresponsible representation.” Accordingly, I would affirm the decision of the trial justice. It is my considered opinion that § 42-94-5 and G.L. 1956 (1986 Reenactment) § 28-33-1.1(9) are unconstitutional as viola-tive of this court’s exclusive power to regulate the practice of law. Therefore, I re-spectrally dissent from the majority opinion.