When I read stories like this, I wonder why I'm about to go through three grueling years and amass considerable debt when I could just pretend to be a lawyer!It reminds me of this restaurant down the road from my mom and step-dad's house called Why Cook? Why go to law school, rack up thousands of dollars in debt, and study your ass off to pass the bar, when you could do just fine for yourself pretending you're a qualified, certified attorney? Way to buck the system, Howard Kieffer!A California man misrepresented himself as a licensed attorney in at least 16 cases at 10 federal courts since 2004, including the case of an NHL player who pleaded guilty to hiring a hitman to kill his agent and a murder-for-hire trial involving an Aspen woman, according to records obtained by The Denver Post.
Clients and lawyers knew Howard O. Kieffer, 52, as a capable attorney specializing in federal sentencing and plea negotiations through the Santa Ana, Calif.-based Federal Defense Associates legal office, where he worked as executive director.
But a nationwide review of court and other records by the Denver Post found that Kieffer:
• Did not attend the Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C., as he has claimed.
• Has a criminal record with felony convictions for filing false tax returns and grand theft.
• Is not licensed to practice law anywhere in the United States, including its territories and the District of Columbia.
• Is not a member of the American Bar Association and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, as he has claimed.
• And has been ordered by two federal courts to show proof of his standing in the legal community.
Source: Denver Post via Above the Law
Image: Denver Post
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