Elizabeth Warren: Undocumented Lawyer

Monday, October 01, 2012

Rob Eno, MINDSETTER™

There’s a scene in “My Cousin Vinny” after Judge Haller has reservations about Vinny’s license to practice law. Where Lisa takes matters into her own hands. Vinny asks Lisa, “what the hell was that all about back there?” Lisa replies, “I had a friend send a fax to the judge, confirming the very impressive legal stature of Jerry C-allo!” It is becoming increasingly clear that someone at the Elizabeth Warren campaign is doing their best Lisa impersonation.

For Elizabeth Warren is an undocumented lawyer.

Over the past week and a half, serious questions have been raised about whether or not Elizabeth Warren was practicing law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts without a license. By her own admission, Warren has never been a member of the Massachusetts Bar, despite teaching at Harvard University and using her Harvard office to do legal work. These facts were first reported by the conservative blogger William Jacobson, a Cornell Law Professor who blogs at LegalInsurrection.com.

Last Monday, Jacobson first showed that Warren did not have a valid license to practice law, even though she listed her office on federal court documents as Harvard University. He also mentioned that she was unable to practice law in Texas, and recently gave up her law license in NJ. Jacobson made a strong case that Warren was practicing law in Massachusetts without a valid license to do so.
Later that same day, Warren told Jim Braude, in a radio interview, that she has never had a valid Massachusetts law license. Nor has she been a member of the Massachusetts Bar. She conceded a major part of Jacobson’s point.

The Massachusetts establishment, and other liberal bloggers, leapt to Warren’s defense. This included the general counsel for the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, who stated to MassLawyersWeekly.com that if Warren was only “dabbling” in the law she didn’t need a license in Massachusetts to practice before the Federal bench. Warren’s defenders took that as, the Board of Bar Overseers saying there was no merit in the charges. The general counsel was forced to clarify to Professor Jacobson that he was only speaking personally, and in any official capacity.

Another Warren Defender

Another Warren defender who initially dismissed Jacobson’s claims has changed his mind after Jacobson later in the week answered “all my objections.” The main objection by the League of Ordinary Gentleman blogger was that Warren had not represented Massachusetts Clients or practiced in a Massachusetts court. Jacobson uncovered that, in fact, Warren did represent a Massachsuetts client in an appeal to the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, on a question of Massachusetts law. This is clearly practicing in Massachusetts without a Massachusetts license.

Jacobson later revealed that Warren had over a dozen law clients out of her Cambridge Office in 2002. This clearly shows more than a “dabbling” in the law.

Warren’s defenders, and the Warren campaign are continuing to obfuscate the truth by muddying the waters on this issue. This past weekend Jacobson uncovered that after being questioned about Warren’s ability to practice law, someone changed Warren’s Texas Bar registration from “not eligible” to practice law to “inactive” in a matter of a few days. When contacted, Kim Davey the Public Information Director of the Texas Bar confirmed, before this new revelation, that Warren’s status has been inactive since June 1, 1992. A full twenty plus years. Davey told GoLocalWorcester.com that this, “basically means that the lawyer cannot practice the law in Texas.”

As each day goes on, and more is uncovered, it is becoming increasingly clear that Elizabeth Warren may have committed at the minimum a misdemeanor under Massachusetts Law, the practice of law without a license in Massachusetts. This doesn’t mean she wasn’t intellectually qualified to do so, it means that she didn’t do the proper paperwork, or pay the proper fees. She’s not opened an IOLTA account for the storing of client funds, the interest of which goes to indigent defense. Imagine what would happen to a plumber, real estate agent, doctor, or any other professional who practiced without a license in Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Warren is not just a Harvard Professor, she’s an undocumented lawyer.

Rob Eno is a conservative activist and publisher of the Massachusetts based blog, RedMassGroup.com. He's a native of Lowell, and currently resides in Shrewsbury.