Injunctive Relief; Venue; Procedure; Other Remedies Not Curtailed

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Courts
  4. Attorneys
  5. Regulation of Practice of Law
  6. Injunctive Relief; Venue; Procedure; Other Remedies Not Curtailed

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  1. Either the State Bar of Georgia, the Judicial Council of this state, or any organized bar association of this state is authorized to institute in the proper superior court of this state an action or actions seeking injunctive relief against any person, firm, or corporation, when it determines after investigation that such person, firm, or corporation:
    1. Is engaged in the unauthorized or unlawful practice of law;
    2. Reserved;
    3. In violation of Code Section 15-19-55 or rules promulgated by the Supreme Court, is orally or by writing, for a consideration then or afterwards to be charged or received by himself or another, offering or tendering to another person, without the solicitation of such other person, the services of an attorney at law, resident or nonresident of this state, in order for the attorney to institute an action or represent the person in the courts of this or any other state or of the United States in the enforcement or collection by law of any claim, debt, or demand of any such person against another or is suggesting or urging the bringing of the action; or
    4. Is engaged in the practice of seeking out and proposing to other persons that they present and urge through any attorney at law the collection of any claim, debt, or demand of such person against another.
  2. The venue of any action authorized by this Code section shall be determined by the constitutional and statutory provisions relating to cases in equity.
  3. The hearing, interlocutory or final, and the trial of actions authorized by this Code section shall be governed by the laws of this state relating to injunctions, as shall appeals from orders or judgments therein.
  4. In any action brought under this Code section, the final judgment, if in favor of the plaintiff, shall perpetually enjoin the defendant or defendants from the commission or continuance of the act or acts complained of. Restraining orders or temporary injunctions may be granted as in other cases in which injunctive relief is sought.
  5. This Code section and Code Section 15-19-57 shall not repeal or curtail any remedy provided in cases of unauthorized or unlawful practice of law, and nothing contained in these Code sections shall be construed as abridging the powers of the courts in such matters.

(Ga. L. 1946, p. 171, §§ 2-6; Ga. L. 2007, p. 47, § 15/SB 103; Ga. L. 2008, p. 324, § 15/SB 455.)

Law reviews.

- For note discussing problems with venue in Georgia, and proposing statutory revisions to improve the resolution of venue questions, see 9 Ga. St. B.J. 254 (1972).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Standing to enjoin unauthorized practice of law.

- This section grants standing to enjoin the unlawful or unauthorized practice of law only to the State Bar of Georgia, the judicial council, or any organized bar association of the state, and not to private citizens. Dixon v. Georgia Indigent Legal Servs., Inc., 388 F. Supp. 1156 (S.D. Ga. 1974), aff 'd, 532 F.2d 1373 (5th Cir. 1976).

Pursuant to Ga. St. Bar R. 14-1.1 and 14.1-1.2, the power to regulate the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) resided in the state supreme court and the state bar association; thus, a private bar association lacked standing under Ga. St. Bar R. 14-2.1(a) and O.C.G.A. § 15-19-58(a) to bring a UPL suit against a title company. GRECCA, Inc. v. Omni Title Servs., Inc., 277 Ga. 312, 588 S.E.2d 709 (2003).

Alleged contemnor, who claimed that an attorney signed a declaration related to a motion to hold the contemnor in contempt concerning events occurring two to four days before the attorney was licensed to practice law, could not assert a private right of action for the unauthorized practice of law against the attorney because Georgia law did not recognize such a right of action as the remedies for the unauthorized practice of law included criminal sanctions and allowing the state bar and certain bar organizations to pursue injunctive relief. Oswell v. Nixon, 275 Ga. App. 205, 620 S.E.2d 419 (2005).

O.C.G.A. §§ 15-1-8,15-6-4, and15-19-58 did not conflict with one another so as to be unconstitutional because O.C.G.A. § 15-1-8 provided that judges should not be disqualified from sitting in a proceeding because the judge was a policyholder of any mutual insurance company, O.C.G.A. § 15-6-4 provided for qualifications for state superior court judges, and O.C.G.A. § 15-19-58 allowed the state bar to seek injunctive relief against parties engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. Alyshah v. Georgia, F. Supp. 2d (N.D. Ga. Sept. 1, 2006), aff'd, 230 Fed. Appx. 949 (11th Cir. Ga. 2007).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 7 Am. Jur. 2d, Attorneys at Law, § 135 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 7 C.J.S., Attorney and Client, §§ 18, 40, 42.

ALR.

- Practicing or pretending to practice law without authority as contempt, 36 A.L.R. 533; 100 A.L.R. 236.


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