Fake lawyers are being investigated by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Minas Gerais.

Mines 247 – The Brazilian Bar Association of Minas Gerais (OAB-MG) warns: be very careful when hiring a lawyer. At the institution's request, the Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating 101 people who are allegedly practicing law without authorization. These include law graduates, interns, and even those who have never attended law school, all representing their clients without having passed the OAB exam, a necessary requirement to practice the profession.

Check out the article by the journalist. Pedro Ferreira, from the newspaper State of Minas

Extreme caution is advised when hiring a lawyer. This warning comes from the very entity that represents lawyers in Minas Gerais. The Minas Gerais section of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB-MG) has just sent the state Public Prosecutor's Office (MPE) a list with the names of 101 people suspected of illegally practicing law in the state. Most of the cases involve law graduates who have completed their law degree but have not passed the Bar exam – a requirement to practice law. There are also cases of interns working in the field and people practicing law without even having attended university.

The request for action was forwarded to the Public Prosecutor's Office by the Defense, Assistance and Prerogatives Commission of the OAB-MG (Brazilian Bar Association of Minas Gerais). A second list with another 99 names will be sent later. Some suspects, the association reports, have been acting illegally since 2005. Many opened offices or legal consulting firms and even hired licensed lawyers. However, according to the OAB's prerogatives delegate, Cíntia Ribeiro Freitas, article 37 of the OAB statute stipulates that only regularly registered professionals can form a partnership. "We are taking the appropriate measures. In this case, we will notify the Public Prosecutor's Office, which is the holder of the action," said Cíntia.

The Public Prosecutor's Office will analyze the 101 proceedings and, based on the evidence presented by the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) and its own investigations, may file charges against the accused. They could face charges of misdemeanor, based on article 47 of Decree-Law 3.688/41, and fraud. The penalty can reach five years of imprisonment. The case is in the hands of prosecutor Joaquim Miranda, from the Center for Support to Criminal Prosecutors.

According to the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), hiring an unlicensed lawyer can lead to various problems. Besides practicing illegally, it's impossible to know if these individuals have the technical knowledge to properly defend their clients, which can result in financial and moral damages. Without naming names, the OAB-MG's Defense, Assistance, and Prerogatives Commission reported that the list sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office includes, for example, an unlicensed lawyer who allegedly caused a woman R$ 21 in losses. The power of attorney signed by the client for the supposed professional stated that he was registered with the Bar Association, but the OAB later discovered that he was actually an intern and had his license revoked in 2008.

No registration required

According to Cíntia Ribeiro, the suspect completed his law degree and received his diploma, but cannot practice law. “He is not properly registered with the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association). He would need to have passed the Bar exam to be eligible to practice. Registration is suspended when a lawyer is sanctioned by the Ethics Council, but that is not his case,” said the lawyer. Even without passing the Bar exam, the unregistered lawyer allegedly opened an office in Belo Horizonte and hired lawyers registered with the OAB-MG to work with him. The investigation indicates that he was hired for a property division case, charged 10% of the total value upfront, but allegedly abandoned the case halfway through.

Another case under investigation involves an intern who presents himself as a lawyer to clients and allegedly owns a legal consulting firm in downtown Belo Horizonte. The OAB's (Brazilian Bar Association) prerogative delegate explains that in the seventh semester of law school, students must meet a series of requirements to obtain an intern registration, valid for three years, until one year after graduation. "The intern can only act when in the presence of a registered professional. They cannot perform any isolated act without the assistance of a licensed lawyer," states Cíntia. She explains that the OAB conducted an investigation before forwarding the proceedings to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The investigations began with the Ethics and Discipline Committee, based on complaints from victims and official letters received.

Take cover

To avoid problems, the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) recommends that, before hiring a lawyer, clients check if they are properly registered with the association. This information can be found on the website www.oabmg.org.br. You can type the professional's name into the "registration search" link to see if they are in good standing. In case of complaints against professionals, clients can call the OAB-MG's Commission for the Defense, Assistance and Prerogatives at 0800-283-1651.

The exam approves less than 50% of candidates.
Minas Gerais has 76.405 lawyers registered with the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), of which 30.957 practice in Belo Horizonte. Three exams are held annually to allow new professionals to legally practice law. On average, each Bar exam receives 10 applications, totaling 30 per year. The pass rate is less than 50%, but higher than the national average of 25,4% in the last exam.

Not all graduates take the test. Law schools produce law graduates, but not all choose to become lawyers. Many prefer to take public service exams that do not require the OAB exam. According to Michel Reiss, president of the OAB-MG Bar Exam Commission, the test they administer is not difficult, but it does require a certain level of dedication from the student.

“When there is this dedication throughout the entire law course, and not just on the eve of the course, it presents no difficulty,” he argues. According to him, the large number of higher education institutions may be one of the factors contributing to the current low pass rate on the Bar exam. “But, if it is a dedicated student, he passes not on the first exam, but on the first few exams he takes. The number of law courses is another factor that may contribute to the decrease in the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association) pass rate,” he stated. “The Bar Association wants law graduates to have a minimum level of technical knowledge to practice law as a way of protecting citizenship and society,” he affirmed.