Real Lawyers Step In to Help Clients of N.Y. Man Accused of UPL
The lobby of the New York City Bar Association was packed on Monday evening as more than 100 former clients of a man accused of posing as an immigration lawyer waited to meet with more than 50 actual attorneys who volunteered to provide them with real legal advice.
Victor Espinal, 59, studied law in the Dominican Republic but was never admitted to the New York bar, reports the New York Times. He allegedly has “practiced” immigration law here, however, at least since 1992—or a minimum of nearly 17 years.
On Monday, multiple clients told volunteer attorneys they had paid Espinal thousands of dollars for legal advice—some of which, according to the pro bono lawyers, was mistaken, the newspaper writes.
One woman, who became a legal permanent resident with Espinal’s help, said he told her not to travel to her native Colombia until she became a citizen.
“She had not seen her family for 10 years because of the advice by this so-called lawyer,” attorney David Sperling tells the Times. “She started crying, saying, ‘If only someone had told me this before—I waited so many years!’ ”
Espinal has pleaded not guilty to charges including unauthorized practice of law and larceny, as detailed in an earlier story in the newspaper’s City Room blog. He has been released on $50,000 bail while awaiting trial.
