454.23

Penalties.

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454.23 Penalties.Any person not licensed or otherwise authorized to practice law in this state who practices law in this state or holds himself or herself out to the public as qualified to practice law in this state, or who willfully pretends to be, or willfully takes or uses any name, title, addition, or description implying that he or she is qualified, or recognized by law as qualified, to practice law in this state, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
History.s. 21, ch. 10175, 1925; CGL 8133; s. 384, ch. 71-136; s. 1, ch. 74-128; s. 184, ch. 97-103; s. 1, ch. 2004-287.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 37 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1953–2026 · leading case: State v. Foster
State v. Foster (1996) fladistctapp · cites it 39× “§ 454.23, Fla.Stat. (1993). In Mr. Foster's case, the trial court dismissed all counts against him; declared section 454.”
CHANDRIS, SA v. Yanakakis (1995) fla · cites it 4× “3d at 1511-12 (footnotes and record citations omitted).”
Amendments Regulating Bar-Advertising (1999) fla · cites it 3× “) [3] For example, section 454.23, Florida Statutes (1997), provides: Penalties.”
The Florida Bar v. Moses (1980) fla · cites it 2× “Brickman, Expansion of the Lawyering Process through a New Delivery System: The Emergence and State of Legal Paraprofessionalism, 71 Colum.”
EHQF Trust v. S & A Capital Partners, Inc. (2007) fladistctapp · cites it 2× “Section 454.23, Florida Statutes (2006), prohibiting the unlicensed practice of law, provides no exception for representation of a trust.”
In re Ocean 4660 LLC (2017) flsb · cites it 2× “It has come to the Court’s attention that Frank was arrested on March 10, 2017, for misrepresenting himself as qualified to practice law (§ 454.23, Fla. Stat.), simulating legal process in fraudulent actions (§ 843.”
Torrey v. Leesburg Regional Medical Center (2000) fla · cites it 2× “5(a)("A lawyer shall not practice law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction.”
Morrison v. West (2010) fladistctapp · cites it 8× “See § 454.23, Fla. Stat. To award fees for illegal activities is contrary to public policy.”
Vista Designs, Inc. v. Silverman (2001) fladistctapp “However, regulatory measures make it a criminal offense to practice law without a license, see section 454.23, Fla.Stat., and the admission of attorneys to practice law is considered a judicial function, see section 454.”
Hucke v. Kubra Data Transfer Ltd. (2015) flsd “However, the court found that “regulatory measures make it a criminal offense to practice law without a license, see section 454.23, Fla. Stat., and the admission of attorneys to practice law is considered a judicial function, see section 454.”
Duval v. State (1999) fladistctapp · cites it 2× “" [3] Section 454.23, Florida Statutes (1995), provides: "Any person not licensed or otherwise authorized by the Supreme Court of Florida who shall practice law or assume or hold himself out to the public as qualified to practice in this state" is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Morales v. Codias (In Re Codias) (1987) flsb “The fact that the violation of express trust resulted from the illegal taking of Plaintiffs’ money in the first instance rather than the misappropriation of money legally received is of no material distinction.”
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