People ex rel. Attorney General v. Gregory, 18157
| Decision Date | 10 June 1957 |
| Docket Number | No. 18157,18157 |
| Citation | 135 Colo. 438,312 P.2d 512 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado ex rel. The ATTORNEY GENERAL of the State of Colorado, Relator, v. Bert E. GREGORY and Mary B. Gregory, Respondents. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Duke W. Dunbar, Atty. Gen., Frank E. Hickey, Deputy Atty. Gen., Norman E. Berman, Sp. Asst. to Atty. Gen., Denver for relators.
Merritt D. Vondy, Denver, for respondents.
This is an original proceeding brought by the attorney general in behalf of the people charging the respondents, neither of whom are, or have ever been, licensed to practice law in the state of Colorado, with the violation of C.R.S. '53, Chapter 12, in that they have been engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in the following respects:
(1) By advertising, representing, and holding themselves out as attorneys at law or counsellors at law and qualified to prepare legal documents and render legal services.
(2) That on June 2, 1955 respondent Mary B. Gregory drafted and prepared two wills, one for Ruby A. Tilgren, the other for Anton Tilgren, and supervised the execution and attestation thereof, and for which service a fee was charged and collected.
(3) That on or about July 6, 1955 the respondent Bert E. Gregory prepared for a husband and wife an agreement for the custody of the children of the parties, rights of visitation, support payment, division of property and payment of debts of the parties, and for which service a fee was charged and collected.
(4) That on July 31, 1955 the respondent Bert E. Gregory drafted and prepared for one Porfirio Alvarado a power of attorney to be executed by one Margurito Alvarado and gave to the parties to said power of attorney legal advice in connection therewith, and for which service a fee was charged and collected.
(5) That the respondent Bert E. Gregory during the year 1956 prepared for more than thirteen different persons complete sets of bankruptcy papers and caused the same to be filed in the United States District Court in Denver, and for which services he charged and collected amounts varying from $20 to $35 for each case so handled.
In answer to the charges respondent Mary B. Gregory denied the same, whereas respondent Bert E. Gregory admitted that he did fill in certain forms with the typewriter but that in doing so he only typed the words that he was told to type by the interested parties, and that in so doing he was not practicing law.
The issues made by the pleadings were referred by the Court to the Honorable Wilbur M. Alter as Master to conduct a hearing and report his findings and recommendations to the Court. Pursuant to the order of reference, hearing was had before the Master and findings made and filed herein. By stipulation of the parties prior to the hearing the charges against Mary B. Gregory were dismissed.
The Master found that the respondent Bert E. Gregory was guilty of (1) preparing a power of attorney for a fee of $2.50; (2) preparing for more than thirteen persons complete sets of petitions and schedules in...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee of Supreme Court of Colorado v. Grimes, 82SA94
...unlicensed person to commit acts which we would condemn if done by a lawyer. Conway Bogue v. Denver Bar Ass'n, supra; People v. Gregory, 135 Colo. 438, 312 P.2d 512 (1957). As the Oklahoma Supreme Court noted of its supervisory power and "Any criterion for distinguishing law practice from t......