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Be Cautious in Retaining Private Organizations and Individuals to Provide Legal Services

By: Staff Attorney Ken Butler

As many of you know, there are scam artists who prey upon prisoners and their families by offering legal research and brief-writing services, particularly in the area of post-conviction review. Two that we have encountered in the past were Richard Mears of Mt. Airy , who operated under the name "RDM Legal Research", and Grover C. Jones of West Virginia, doing business as "Nationwide Criminal Justice Consulting Services." Both of these individuals would charge prisoners and their families hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars for "research services," or promising to file a motion to challenge their convictions. However, because neither Mears nor Jones was an attorney (much less N.C. licensed attorneys), these research services were of little or no value. (Mears did prepare documents for some cases that were ultimately filed by an attorney in Winston-Salem . That attorney has since been disbarred for his work with Mears.)

[Mears also engaged in a scheme whereby he promised to obtain pardons, commutations, or parole for inmates, in exchange for a hefty fee. He told prisoners and their families that he had political contacts in the state Democratic Party that could get this type of relief and that the money paid was to be used as campaign contributions. Mears was subsequently convicted in federal court of multiple counts of mail and wire fraud based on this scheme.]

Another such scheme may be working its way through North Carolina Prisons. One client recently wrote to us reporting claiming that he had had his case reviewed by University Research Services, in Michigan. An experienced NCPLS attorney conducted some investigation of this outfit and found that an individual named John H. Wilson doing business as University Legal Services and University Research Services of Birmingham, Michigan has engaged in activities that appear to be similar to those described above. Wilson has been the subject of legal action in Michigan and Illinois in which he was accused of the unauthorized practice of law. There is a 2002 court order in Michigan commanding Wilson to cease such activities in that state.

This is the first mention that we have heard about this University Legal Services and University Research Services in North Carolina. Our research suggests that Wilson 's m.o. is to mail pamphlets to inmates advertising his services. Obviously, information from a few such pamphlets in a given prison can be quickly spread by word-of-mouth.

NCPLS has contacted the NC Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division and spoken with Assistant Attorney General David Kirkman (who handled the case against Richard Mears). We alerted him to this new development, although for reasons of client confidentiality, we did not identify the client who brought this matter to our attention. Mr. Kirkman said that he would refer this matter to Assistant Attorney General Harriet Worley, who now handles unauthorized practice claims. If you receive an advertisement for legal services from University Legal Services and University Research Services, you may want to contact the Office of the Attorney General. The address for the Consumer Protection Division is 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001.

This type of operation has the potential to cost prisoners and their families a great amount of money. (Mears alone obtained over $600,000.) Obviously, prisoners and their families are often desperate to find some way to get relief. Since most lack any legal training, they are not in a position to gauge the value of what they are promised. For example, our client said that the research he received indicated that he should look at issues of "ineffective assistance of counsel" and "prosecutorial misconduct" to seek relief. Of course, those are only two of the many grounds upon which a collateral challenge to a conviction may be mounted. Apparently, the "research" did not explain how either theory applied to our client's case, and so, was entirely without value.

Unfortunately, many of our clients are distrustful of free legal services, particularly those who were represented by court appointed counsel. In many cases they believe that if they had been able to hire a lawyer they would not be in prison. These factors, together with desperation and an overwhelming desire to return to family and friends create a highly vulnerable population for these research scam artists.

Before you pay for legal services (especially from a non-lawyer or an attorney who seems to be licensed in another state), you may wish to consult a North Carolina lawyer for advice as to whether you're about to be victimized.