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Homeless, Fake Lawyer Offered 'Strategies Most Attorneys Don't Use'

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on May 25, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Want to hire a fake lawyer?

Well, of course you wouldn't. But, unfortunately for some well-meaning consumers, they accidentally did. Arnold Newman, Jr. of Washington state is a homeless man who masqueraded as an attorney, soliciting clients via his website that advertised his services.

Newman's company was called "Parents Against Parental Alienation" or PAPA for short. He offered to help clients fight for their children in custody battles on his website, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Newman, who is homeless, was living out of his car at the time.

Aw man, it's not like attorneys have a glowing reputation already. Now, it seems that people are going to think that some of us are also fakes.

Some of Newman's victims paid him upwards of $3,000 to take on their case. He also told them that he would "get spectacular results using strategies most attorneys don't use."

Well, of course, since one of Newman's strategies was to tell his "client" to ignore a court date, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Generally, us attorneys tend to advise clients that missing court dates is (to put it simply) bad.

Of course, the Bar Association was none too pleased to hear that someone was besmirching the reputation of the great legal profession.

Newman was arrested after an investigation and charged with 2 counts of first degree theft and two counts of unlawful practice of law, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Newman had previously been released prior to the incidents after he was detained for a civil contempt charge.

Poor Newman, it seems like being a fake lawyer is not a lucrative business practice. Though, same may argue that being a real-life lawyer is also not a lucrative business practice as well.

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