Woman Accused of Accepting $1,700 to Work as Lawyer for Jail Inmate Is Now Facing Charges Herself
A California woman accused of accepting $1,700 to work on a jail inmate’s child-custody case while pretending to be a lawyer is now facing criminal charges.
When sheriff’s deputies at the Orange County jail followed the standard procedure of asking for an attorney identification card, prosecutors said, defendant Ellen Anise Rowland, 56, told them it was in her car but provided the name and identification number of a real attorney, Ellen Williams. After calling the actual Ellen Williams to confirm that she was not the claimed lawyer at the jail, the deputies pursued a case against Rowland, according to the L.A. Now page of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register.
The newspapers say Rowland now faces a misdemeanor count of unauthorized practice of law and a felony count of possession of a controlled substance. Authorities say 11 Vicodin pills for which she had no prescription were found in a search of Rowland’s car after the UPL issue arose.
The articles don’t include any comment from Rowland or her attorney. She is expected to be arraigned Wednesday.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com (Sept. 2008): “Unlicensed ‘Lawyer’ Allegedly Practiced for a Decade in 10 States”
ABAJournal.com (April 2010): “Feds: Nonlawyer Opened Law Firm Using IDs of 2 Lawyers with Same Name”
ABAJournal.com (Sept. 2010): “Using Fake Bar Number, ‘Lawyer’ Handled 20 Civil Matters, Newspaper Reports”
ABAJournal.com (Dec. 2010): “Similar Name Helped Non-Lawyer Open Practice Using Actual Lawyer’s Bar Number, Officials Say”
