OPINION 96-108

SUBJECT: Does the appearance of an attorney's non-lawyer representative at a Bankruptcy 341 Meeting, at which meeting the non-attorney is asking questions that are focused on certain legal matters in the Bankruptcy Code as opposed to merely general information gathering, constitute the unauthorized practice of law, as does the "representation" of petitioning bankrupts by non-attorneys?

It is the OPINION of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee that non-attorneys participating in Bankruptcy 341 Meetings and whose questioning goes beyond mere information gathering to questions focused on legal matters in the Bankruptcy Code are engaged in the unauthorized practice of law as set forth in 42 Pa. C.S.A. �2524.