Washington, DC -- HALT, the nation's largest and oldest legal reform organization, has challenged plans by a Texas Bar Task Force to expand rules that prohibit the Òunauthorized practice of lawÓ and require Texans to hire a lawyer to prepare even the most routine legal documents.

ÒWhile claiming it is protecting consumers, the Texas Bar is really trying to protect itself from competition,Ó said HALT Executive Director James C. Turner. ÒOne of the main reasons that the average consumer cannot afford legal help is that archaic unauthorized practice laws stifle competition and preserve a lawyers' monopoly on providing legal services.Ó

Although the Texas Task Force concedes that Òlicensure requirements may need to be relaxed" for simple legal services, its proposal would prohibit non-lawyers from preparing wills, trusts, contracts, leases and other routine legal documents, and deny Texans access to inexpensive non-lawyer assistance. The proposed law would also prohibit those who are not members of the Texas Bar from Òproviding legal advice or legal representation,Ó which will severely limit the availability of legal advice through new technology, such as legal information posted on Internet sites. An earlier attempt by the Texas Bar to ban the popular Quicken Family Lawyer software was overruled by the state legislature and the federal courts in June 1999.

HALT recommends scrapping the expansive definition of the practice of law formulated by the Task Force and replacing it with a single sentence that would protect consumers against fraudulent practitioners: ÒThe unauthorized practice of law means saying you are a lawyer when you are not.Ó The full text of HALT's submission to the Texas Task Force can be viewed on www.halt.org/FLIP/TexasUPL.html.

Founded in 1978, HALT-- An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform is a national non-partisan, non-profit public interest organization with over 50,000 members. HALT pursues an aggressive education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to improve access and reduce costs in the civil justice system. HALT is known for its extensive collection of self-help law books, currently including over 15 titles, and its advocacy efforts to hold the legal profession accountable.