The Utah State Bar is asking a 4th District judge to order the founder of a local father's rights organization to stop practicing law without a license.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, the State Bar says Dennis Donithorne, Provo, is representing himself as a legal adviser without the licensing required by state law. The Bar is seeking a temporary restraining order enjoining Donithorne from giving legal advice.The suit says Family Dispute Resolution Center, FDRC Inc., DADS, MOMS, NCCR and FACT are alter egos of Donithorne and asks that the organizations also be enjoined from practicing law without a license.
Donithorne, the founder of Fathers and Children Together, is an advocate of the visitation and custodial rights of divorced parents. He says his organizations provide emotional support, legal education, parental consultation and other information for divorced parents. For several years he has pushed for legislation that would penalize parents who ignore visitation privileges ordered by the court.
However, Bar officials saysDonithorne is giving legal advice about divorce and other custodial issues. In the suit, Bar officials say he has prepared documents for litigants and has provided advice and counsel for a fee.
Donithorne told the Deseret News Wednesday he does not give
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legal advice. He said his organization is a non-profit secretarial service for those who want to handle their own legal matters because they cannot afford an attorney. The documents his organization fills out are provided by Utah Legal Services. The fees he charges are only enough to cover operating expenses.
"For us to deliver the services and have a place for people to come we have to do that," he said.
The Bar says numerous complaints have been filed against Donithorne by former clients, court personnel and judges. It says judges have complained that those counseled by Donithorne are unprepared and unfamiliar with court procedures and are unable to answer questions about pleadings. Clients have complained that they were misadvised about their rights, obligations and duties.
"The conduct of the defendant has jeopardized the rights of his clients and has exposed them to risks and liabilities that were outside the scope of his ability to evaluate and analyze," the suit says. "The conduct of the defendant constitutes a public nuisance and is harmful to the public in general and if allowed to continue will expose the public to a great risk."
Donithorne said he has received very few complaints and does not believe the views expressed in the suit represent those of the majority of his clients or judges.
Bar officials say Donithorne has repeatedly ignored their requests for him to stop practicing law without a license.
"There is no adequate remedy against the conduct of the defendant except to enjoin him from continuing to advise, counsel and perform legal services for the public, either gratuitously or for a fee," the suit say.
Donithorne said he has never been asked by Bar officials to cease his activities. In fact, the Bar's Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee sent him a letter in July saying it had no problem with his services.
The unauthorized practice of law statute is not clearly defined and only says those providing legal advice without a license must not represent themselves to be attorneys, Donithorne said. He informs his clients up front that he is not an attorney, he said.
Donithorne said his organizations provide affordable access to the judicial system. He said he will have no problem finding something else to do if his organizations are enjoined from operating, but the public will lose a much-needed service.
"The real question comes down to the public being able to come here and have an option," he said.