Fee Collection for Contingent Fee Is Unauthorized Practice

The South Carolina Supreme Court adopted  the report of a special referee finding that a non-lawyer operating a business called Refunds Plus engaged in unauthorized prectice by entering into a contingency agreement to attempt to collect a judgment: “The practical effect of [the] agreement is that the [non-lawyer] was to be paid a fee to collect the debt.” The court held that such activity involves the unauthorized practice of law, citing cases from several jurisdictions in support of that conclusion. (Mike Frisch)