On Tuesday, the California Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a case that will decide whether nonprofit corporations engaging in the practice of law are subject to oversight by the State Bar of California.
For more than 20 years, San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic has operated a law office that is not registered with the State Bar. My law firm, Zacks Utrecht & Leadbetter, represents former THC clients Roy Frye, Douglas Blunt and Thomas Hannon, who allege in Frye v. Tenderloin Housing Clinic, 120 Cal.App.4th 1208, that THC is not allowed to collect attorneys’ fees because it is not registered and therefore not authorized to practice law. THC and numerous amici contend that nonprofit corporations have a First Amendment right to practice law without any regulation by the State Bar.
