Fake Lawyer Taught Real CLE Class

A presenter at a 2007 continuing legal education course on sentencing issues in Milwaukee did indeed have a certain amount of criminal experience. But it wasn't the criminal experience claimed on his resume.

Rather than being a lawyer and former congressional aide, as stated on biographical information for a seminar on "Sentence Computation Issues: State v. Federal Custody and Service of Multiple Sentences," Howard Kieffer was a convicted felon, reports the No Quarter blog of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Attended by perhaps 50 lawyers, the CLE seminar was hosted by Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin. Kieffer was one of five presenters at the program.

Lawyers who attended don't have to worry about having their CLE credit docked over Kieffer's deception, the article notes:

"The attorneys who attended the presentation did so in good faith and probably received some useful information, at least from the other speakers," says John Kosobucki. He is the director of the Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners.

Earlier coverage:

ABA Journal: "Catch Me If You Can"

ABAJournal.com: "Fake Lawyer Convicted, Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison"

ABAJournal.com: "Lawyers Testify They Were Duped by Fake Attorney"