Los Angeles, CA -- Appearing today before the American Bar Association's Commission on Multidisciplinary Practice, HALT, a national consumer legal reform group, urged the Commission to recommend removing archaic "unauthorized practice of law" rules that prevent access to America's civil justice system. Testifying shortly after a US District Court in Texas ruled that some self-help legal software could be banned in that state, HALT Executive Director, James C. Turner, called on the ABA Commission to reform unauthorized practice of law statutes that are being misused to prevent millions of Americans from getting the help they need to deal with our court system.

"New technologies offer us an unparalleled opportunity to provide help to millions of Americans who do not have access to the civil justice system today," Turner stated. "The Federal Court ruling in Texas that takes Quicken Family Lawyer off the bookshelves violates Americans' First Amendment rights to buy, read and use self-help legal materials."

"Instead of allowing consumers to take advantage of the new technology offered by home computers, authorities in Texas are acting like the 19th century Luddites, who destroyed equipment in manufacturing plants," he continued. "Just as history proved the folly of breaking machines to fight progress, we believe that consumers' demands to use products like Quicken Family Lawyer will overcome the objections of the hide bound legal establishment."

Pointing out that monopolistic actions like banning self-help law books and software are actually efforts to protect lawyers' economic standing, HALT urged the Commission to apply the following three reform principles:

• Unauthorized practice of law means saying you are a lawyer when you're not.
• Innovative partnering is permissible with client consent after full disclosure of work and fee arrangements between lawyers and nonlawyers.
• A client or customer complaint is required before unauthorized practice of law proceedings can be initiated.

HALT - An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform pursues an aggressive education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to improve access and to reduce costs in the civil justice system. HALT is known for its extensive collection of self-help law books and its advocacy to hold the legal profession accountable.