An increasingly used service in the American court system is “legal ghostwriting.” Legal ghostwriting is the practice where someone represents himself in court, but has a lawyer draft his written pleadings for him. The client signs the legal pleadings himself.
For many clients, legal ghostwriting is less expensive than retaining a lawyer to represent them. Because the lawyer does not appear in court, the lawyer often charges less for his ghostwriting services. So, the client can have the benefit of legal expertise in drafting his pleadings, but does not have to pay as much.
State bar associations have often wrestled with the ethical issues surrounding legal ghostwriting. For example, if a lawyer drafts legal documents, but pretends that his client drafted them, is the lawyer dishonestly misleading the court?
Oklahoma District Court Rule 33 contains the following provision about legal ghostwriting:
A lawyer providing limited scope representation under Rule 1.2 (c) of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct may draft pleadings or other documents for a pro se litigant to file with or present to a district court without the lawyer entering an appearance in the matter. A lawyer shall disclose such assistance by indicating their name, address, bar number, telephone number, other contact information and, optionally, a signature on said pleading or other document with the phrase “No appearance is entered as counsel of record."
This rule thus allows a person to have a lawyer draft legal documents for him, without the lawyer appearing in court. It thus allows a client to pay a lawyer only to draft legal documents, and also allows the client to avoid paying the lawyer the extra funds necessary for court appearances. But because the rule requires a lawyer to disclose his name and contact information, the rule prevents the deceit associated with undisclosed representation.
The Persaud Law Office is willing to provide legal ghostwriting services for matters in Oklahoma courts. Consistent with the above rule, we will place our name and contact information on the pleading, along with the phrase “No appearance as counsel of record.” We also will prepare documents only for presentation in Oklahoma courts; because we are not licensed to practice outside of Oklahoma, we cannot assist you with matters in other states. We will first meet with you to assess your case; after we meet with you, we will prepare a fee agreement based on your individual needs. If you would like us to ghostwrite court documents for you, feel free to give us a call.
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