The unauthorized practice of law is a proper subject for summary judgment. Unauthorized Practice of Law Comm. v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 51 (Tex. 1985) (holding it was for court to decide whether activities of private immigration service agency amounted to practicing law); Fadia v. Unauthorized Practice of Law Comm., 830 S.W.2d 162, 164 (Tex. App. — Dallas 1992, writ denied) (holding trial court had authority to decide as matter of law whether Fadia's distribution of will manuals constituted unauthorized practice of law.). When the activities alleged to be the practice of law are undisputed, courts have the inherent power to determine on a case-by-case basis whether those activities constitute the unauthorized practice of law. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d at 50-51; Fadia, 830 S.W.2d at 164.
The Court's inherent power under Article II, Section I to regulate Texas law practice is assisted by statute, primarily the State Bar Act.See State Bar of Texas v. Gomez, 891 S.W.2d 243, 245 (Tex. 1994); Unauthorized Practice Comm. v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 51 (Tex. 1985). Cf. Sperry v. Florida, 373 U.S. 379, 383 (1963) (recognizing that a state has a "substantial interest in regulating the practice of law within the State"); Hexter Title Abstract Co. v. Grievance Comm., 179 S.W.2d 946, 948 (Tex. 1944) ("The State has a vital interest in the regulation of the practice of law for the benefit and protection of the people as a whole").
adjudicated cases to determine whether other services and acts not enumerated in this Act may constitute the practice of law.Unauthorized Practice Comm. of the State Bar of Tex. v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 49 (Tex. 1985). In a case similar to the one at bar, the First Court of Appeals considered whether a mother, who was not licensed to practice law, could represent her son in an original proceeding.
City of Keller, 168 S.W.3d at 819. The Supreme Court of Texas has held that providing immigration services in the absence of a law license constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. Unauthorized Practice Comm. v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 50-51 (Tex. 1985). State law provides that a notary public cannot state or imply that he is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state.
The unauthorized practice of law is a proper subject for summary judgment. Cf. Unauthorized Practice of Law Comm. v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 51 (Tex.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 980, 106 S.Ct. 384, 88 L.Ed.2d 337 (1985). Courts have the inherent power to determine on a case-by-case basis what constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. Id. at 51.
TEX.REV.CIV.STAT.ANN. art. 320a-1, § 19(a) (Vernon Supp. 1987). Courts inherently have the power to determine what is the practice of law on a case by case basis, unrestrained by the statutory definition. Unauthorized Practice Committee, State Bar of Texas v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 50 (Tex.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 980, 106 S.Ct. 384, 88 L.Ed.2d 337 (1985). The practice of law embraces in general all advice to clients and all action taken for them in matters connected with the law.
In re Torres, 2015 WL 458057, at *1, *15-16 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Jan. 23, 2015) (citing to Unauthorized Practice Comm., State Bar of Texas v. Cortez, 692 S.W. 2d 47, 51 (Tex. 1985)). A finding that an individual has committed the unauthorized practice of law, there can be criminal liability.
[T]he Court has the duty and the inherent power to determine in each case what constitutes the practice of the law, and to inhibit persons from engaging in the practice of law without having obtained a license to do so." Unauthorized Practice Comm., State Bar of Texas v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 51 (Tex. 1985) (quoting Grievance Comm. State Bar v. Coryell, 190 S.W.2d 130, 131 (Tex. Civ. App.—Austin 1945, writ ref'd w.o.m)).
The Court has the duty and the inherent power to determine in each case what constitutes the practice of the law, and to inhibit persons from engaging in the practice of law without having obtained a license to do so. Unauthorized Practice Committee, State Bar of Texas v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 51 (Tex. 1985). In addition, Texas law provides that the unauthorized practice of law is a Class A misdemeanor or, for multiple convictions, a third degree felony.
In Texas, courts have the inherent power to determine whether other services and acts not expressly enumerated in the definition might also constitute the practice of law. See id.; see also Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee v. Cortez, 692 S.W.2d 47, 50 (Tex. 1985). The practice of law embraces all advice to clients and all action taken for them in matters connected with the law.