Attorneys – Georgia Lawyer – Unauthorized Practice of Law – Pro Hac Vice Application

The court suspects that a Georgia lawyer engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by ghostwriting the plaintiff-corporation’s proposed pretrial order and its trial brief. The court denies the lawyer’s last-minute application for pro hac vice admission and refers this matter to the Georgia and North Carolina State Bars.

Motion denied and matter referred.

The Georgia lawyer has been notified and warned by the court that he could not represent plaintiff in this court without associating local counsel and without applying for pro hac vice admission. Nevertheless, he waited for more than a year, until the last business day before trial was scheduled to begin, to associate local counsel and apply for pro hac admission. This is an additional ground for denying the motion for pro hac vice admission.

Carolina Home Solutions 1, Inc. v. Crystal Coast Home Solutions, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 020-037-18, 12 pp.) (Louis Bledsoe III, J.) E. Bradley Evans for plaintiff and counterclaim defendant; Jeremy King and Steven Johnson for defendant. 2018 NCBC 57