Federal Court Upholds New York's Limits on Unauthorized Practice of Law

A recent federal court decision in New York has reinforced longstanding restrictions on the unauthorized practice of law, highlighting the balance between access to justice and protecting the public from unqualified legal advice. The case, Upsolve Inc. v. James, centered on a nonprofit organization's effort to use non-lawyers to provide free legal guidance in debt-collection lawsuits. The program trained non-lawyers, called Justice Advocates, to help low-income individuals complete a standard one-page answer form in response to debt-collection suits, where default judgments occur in up to 90% of cases.

The litigation began in January 2022 when Upsolve filed suit against New York Attorney General Letitia James in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Upsolve, along with the Rev. John Udo-Okon, challenged New York's unauthorized practice of law rules, arguing they violated First Amendment rights by limiting their American Justice Movement program. In May 2022, U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty granted a preliminary injunction, finding the rules likely unconstitutional as content-based restrictions on speech, subject to strict scrutiny.

The judge noted the program's safeguards, including training, ethical guidelines and referrals for complex matters, and concluded the rules were overbroad.

The state appealed, and in September 2025, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the injunction. The appeals court ruled the unauthorized practice rules were content-neutral and should be reviewed under intermediate scrutiny, a less stringent standard. The case was sent back to the district court for further review. On March 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed the complaint, upholding the rules. Kaplan found the restrictions advanced important government interests without unduly burdening speech.

This outcome underscores key public policy reasons for maintaining limits on unauthorized legal practice. New York's rules, enforced through civil, criminal and contempt proceedings, require legal practitioners to meet rigorous standards: a law degree, passage of the bar exam and demonstration of good character. These measures protect consumers from incompetent, inexperienced or unethical advice, particularly in individualized cases like debt disputes, where poor guidance can lead to severe financial harm. The rules also safeguard the integrity of the justice system by ensuring ethical behavior and independence among those providing legal services. Court have long recognized that unregulated advice poses risks, especially in organized programs where non-lawyers might face conflicts or lack accountability.

While programs like Upsolve's aim to improve access to justice, the decision emphasizes that such goals must not compromise public protection.

For those needing legal help, options abound beyond unauthorized sources. Individuals should contact the New York State Bar Association's lawyer referral service, a local indigent legal services provider or a competent local attorney of their own choosing.

New York State Judicial Conduct Commission Releases Annual Report of Activity

In the 2025 Annual Report of its activities for 2024, released March 4, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct reported the following:

• 363 full-fledged investigations were undertaken.
• 11 judges were publicly disciplined: three judges were removed from office, three were censured and five were admonished.
• 13 judges resigned and publicly agreed never to return to judicial office.
• Seven other judges resigned while complaints were pending, where it had not been determined permanent departure from office was warranted or appropriate.
• 23 judges were issued confidential cautionary letters.
• 212 matters were pending at year’s end.

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is the independent state agency that reviews complaints of ethical misconduct against the 3,500 judges and justices of the State Unified Court System and, where appropriate, renders public disciplinary Determinations.

The annual report is available here.

Schuyler County Commemorates Monday May 1 as “Law Day”

Law Day is Monday (May 1) and the Schuyler County Legislature has recognized as the Law Day 2023 theme “Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration.”

The legislature passed a resolution at its April 10, 2023 meeting, recognizing “Law Day” as an occasion of public acknowledgement of our Nation’s heritage of justice, liberty, and equality under the law.

The resolution was submitted to the legislature by Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman.

“Promoting collaboration and civility is an important component in the civic education of the citizens of the United States, the State of New York and the County of Schuyler so that we might respectfully resolve our disputes, strengthen the bonds between citizens, and protect the promise of freedom,” Getman wrote.

However, the resolution noted, “overly-entrenched political beliefs, unwarranted personal attacks, efforts to silence those with whom one disagrees, and a national news media often prone to sensationalism and partisanship may erode civility, collaboration and the blessings of liberty.”

In passing the resolution, the legislature called upon all Schuyler County residents “to observe this day by renewing their commitment to civic engagement, civility, and collaboration, to promote justice, liberty, and equality under the law.” It was supported unanimously by the members present.

May 1, 2023 is the 65th Law Day. In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Law Day Proclamation to mark our nation’s commitment to the rule of law. Each year the American Bar Association selects an annual theme for Law Day.

A copy of Schuyler County’s resolution “Recognizing and Commemorating May 1, 2023 as ‘Law Day’ in Schuyler County” is available below:

RECOGNIZING AND COMMEMORATING MAY 1, 2023 AS “LAW DAY” IN SCHUYLER COUNTY – COUNTY ATTORNEY’S DEPARTMENT by Steven Getman on Scribd

New York Courts Seek Comment on Proposal to Amend Non-discrimination Rules

The New York State Administrative Board of the Courts is seeking public comment on a proposal to amend various rules of the Unified Court System to prohibit discrimination based on "gender identity" and "gender expression."

The proposal seeks to amend the following rules:

• Attorney Rules of Professional Conduct (22 NYCRR Part 1200);
• Rules of Judicial Conduct (22 NYCRR Part 100);
• UCS Code of Ethics for Nonjudicial Employees (22 NYCRR Part 50);
• Rules of the Chief Judge, Career Service (22 NYCRR Part 25).

The Request for Public Comment includes the relevant rules, as well as a memorandum by the Chief Administrative Judge of the New York State Courts, Hon. Lawrence Marks, which claims that the current non-discrimination policies are "not inclusive of all the members of the LGBTQ communities," and "[e]xtending these provisions to include 'gender identity' and 'gender expression' will aid in the public efforts to institutionalize the Judiciary's commitment to eradicating discrimination and bias against all persons regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression."

Persons wishing to comment on the proposed amendments should e-mail their submissions here or write to:

John W. McConnell, Esq., Counsel
Office of Court Administration
25 Beaver Street, 11th Fl.
New York, New York 10004.

Comments must be received no later than Feb. 2, 2018.

Exploring the Ethical Implications of Social Media Use

New York State Bar Association:

Social media networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are indispensable tools used by legal professionals and those with whom they communicate. Particularly, in conjunction with the increased use of mobile technologies in the legal profession, social media platforms have transformed the ways in which lawyers communicate.

As use of social media by lawyers and clients continues to grow and as social media networks proliferate and become more sophisticated, so too do the ethical issues facing lawyers. Accordingly, the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section of the New York State Bar Association, which authored these social media ethics guidelines in 2014 to assist lawyers in understanding the ethical challenges of social media, is updating them to include new ethics opinions as well as additional guidelines where the Section believes ethical guidance is needed (the “Guidelines”).

Join leading social media legal experts for a moderated discussion on the 2017 updated Guidelines.

The event will be held Thursday, June 1, 2017 from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the New York Society of Security Analysts, 1540 Broadway, Suite 1010 | New York City and available on the web.