Yesterday, the Disciplinary Review Board in New Jersey imposed sanctions on a lawyer who who sent his paralegal to a court hearing. At the hearing, the paralegal identified herself as a lawyer. Law.com has more on the story here.
I often hear students mention that the lawyers they clerk for send them to court for simple motion calls. I think students should be very careful with this kind of thing. it is a dangerous situation for both the lawyer and the student/law clerk. Going to court to file something is one thing, but making an appearance before the court is quite another. Unless the student has a special license that allows him or her to do so and is supervised by a lawyer or clinical professor, the student would be engaging in unauthorized practice of law.
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