Gardner v. Conway

Rule of Law:

A non-lawyer engages in the unauthorized practice of law when, as part of a regular course of conduct and for consideration, they resolve difficult or doubtful legal questions for another, even if this service is incidental to another profession such as accounting.

Facts:

• The defendant, Conway, who had a grade-school education and was not a licensed lawyer, worked as a public accountant.
• Conway advertised himself to the public as a 'Tax Consultant' and 'Income Tax Expert,' highlighting his past experience as a deputy collector of internal revenue.
• Plaintiffs, a group of licensed lawyers, hired a private investigator, Cecil G. Germain, to determine if Conway was practicing law.
• Germain, using an assumed name and a fabricated set of facts, went to Conway's office to have an income tax return prepared.
• For a fee, Conway prepared the return and also provided advice on several legal issues presented by Germain.
• These issues included whether Germain was in a legal partnership with his wife, whether he could claim an exemption for his common-law wife, whether they should file joint or separate returns, and whether certain farm expenses and losses were legally deductible.

Procedural Posture:

• A committee of licensed lawyers (plaintiffs) sued Conway (defendant) in district court.
• The plaintiffs sought to perpetually enjoin the defendant from engaging in the unauthorized practice of law and to have him held in contempt of court.
• The trial court found in favor of the plaintiffs and granted the injunction.
• The defendant filed a motion for a new trial, which the trial court denied.
• The defendant appealed the order denying his motion for a new trial to the Supreme Court of Minnesota.