Notarios Providing Legal Services Constitutes Unlicensed Practice of Law

Some people in Florida are confused as to what services a Latin American notary public - "notaria," "consultoria" or "notario publico" - can provide regarding immigration matters. In fact, these persons are not attorneys unless properly licensed to practice law in this state, and no win non fee accident should not be relied on for legal advice because they cannot give legal advice.

Numerous complaints have been received about persons of Hispanic descent who have been harmed after mistakenly seeking legal assistance from notaries who offer such services in immigration matters.

Sometimes there is no legal way to immigrate into this country, yet some notaries, without fear of punishment, obtain large fees for immigration counseling and perform no meaningful work for those fees or give incorrect legal advice.

In fact, the fees for most notary services in Florida are set by statute, and notaries are prohibited from practicing law in this state. No one is permitted to charge or accept fees for legal services which they cannot or will not perform.

Lawyers must obtain a college degree from a four-year university, score well on a national law school admissions test, study law for at least three years, graduate from law school, undergo a thorough investigation of moral character, and pass the state Bar examination which includes testing on ethics, state and federal law.

If lawyers fail to give proper advice, they can be subject to the full processes of the law. Immigration matters involve various important rights defined in the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act, and competent legal advice from a licensed attorney is needed to understand these matters.

Florida notaries public, as opposed to lawyers, do not have any minimum educational requirement. They must be at least 18 years of age and a permanent Florida resident. They must submit a signed application with the appropriate fee, have two witnesses vouch for the applicant's good moral character, post a bond, and take an oath.

Matters as important as immigration - where you will live and under what form of government you will raise your family - should not be placed in the hands of an untrained person.

The Florida Notary and the Practice of Law

The Florida notary public certifies that deeds, affidavits, depositions and other writings are authentic or genuine. A Florida notary may also give oaths, make certificates of oaths, and perform marriages.

Notary publics cannot use their title (notario publico, notaria, consultoria) to imply that they are authorized to practice law. The law now prevents a literal translation of "notary public" into a language other than English in advertisements. If the advertisement is not in English, it must contain a disclaimer that states "I am not an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida, and I may not give legal advice or accept fees for legal advice."

Notary publics cannot give legal advice; nor can they prepare immigration forms while holding themselves out as knowledgeable in immigration law and practice. They cannot draw up wills, contracts, leases, deeds or other documents that might affect your legal rights. This would be the practice of law, and notaries in Florida cannot practice law.

Anyone violating the state law which sets forth the requirements for a notary commission is guilty of a felony crime.

What can YOU do?

If you would like to know if someone is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida, you may find out by contacting The Florida Bar, 651 E. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2300, (850) 561-5600 or (800) 342-8060 (toll free). Ask for membership records.

For more information about notaries in Florida, contact the Bureau of Notaries Public, Secretary of State, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 32301, telephone (850) 488-7521.

Finally, if you or someone you know has been misled or harmed by a person who is not a licensed Florida attorney, contact The Florida Bar, Unlicensed Practice of Law Division-Miami Branch, (305) 377-4445; Ft. Lauderdale Branch, (954) 772-2245; Tampa Branch, (813) 875-9821; Orlando Branch, (407) 425-5424; Tallahassee Branch, (850) 561-5840.

Steven A. Culbreath, Esq
Immigration Lawyer

href="mailto:saculbreathlaw@tampabay.rr.com">saculbreathlaw@tampabay.rr.com
href="saculbreathlaw.com/blog/">saculbreathlaw.com/blog/

Insurance Marketing - Do You Really Want the Price Shoppers?

As part of your marketing strategy do you send complete strangers a letter offering a free insurance review? Whats the objective of these letters? To get an appointment and then try to beat the other guys price, right? Is that who you really want to attract? Do you really want to fill your business with price shoppers? If you want insurance sales success you want to avoid price shoppers like an unwanted virus. Price shoppers dont provide a strong foundation to build your business on, so dont waste your marketing efforts trying to attract them.

You cant build a successful long-term business on a foundation of price shoppers. Price shoppers are the most disloyal, time consuming, low value group of clients you could ever hope to have. It doesnt take very many price buyers in your business before you dont have time to go out and sell because they suck up all your time. Price shoppers also have a bad habit of not paying their premiums, so you get to chase them down trying to get them to pay their bills. They drive off any good customers you might have with all their complaining. In all likelihood youve invested a ton of energy into these people, and they wont buy from you ever again, and theyll drop you as soon as your competition can undercut you. It just doesnt no win no fee personal injury make sense to position your business in a way that attracts price shoppers. It makes even less sense to spend your precious marketing dollars trying to attract them.

Yes, you can help good people to save money and you can help them to do that without attracting price shoppers. When you offer a free insurance review your placing your focus on attracting the wrong prospects. When you send your letter your letter is based on the premise of having a product and trying to find someone to sell it to. People dont like to buy products, but they love to buy results. Get yourself out of the product sales business. You are in the business of helping people to get the outcome you know they want because theyve told you they want that outcome.

Helping people to get what they want the way they want it is the foundation you want to use to create your marketing messages. When you do that you provide value. When you provide value youre in a position to attract value shoppers. Value shoppers are critical to your long term insurance sales success. Because value shoppers are very loyal. Value shoppers take up very little time. That means you have more time to build a large client base. Value shoppers are far more likely to provide you with qualified prospects making it even easier for you to build a successful business. Value shoppers are pretty much the opposite of price shoppers in their potential to help you to attract the kind of clients you need to have success.

Start right with your marketing strategies and messages to end right. It just doesnt make good sense to try to start your business by positioning yourself for price shoppers. Make the effort now to position yourself to attract value shoppers so you can enjoy greater insurance sales success.

Want to get unstuck and increase your omaha-business-coach.com/InsSuccess.html">success?

Ready to get unstuck now? coachingmegaagents.com/TrialMembership.php">look here.