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There has long been heated debate, extending through the judicial and legislative bodies of numerous states, over the applicability of unauthorized practice of law regulations to real estate transactions.  Most of this debate has focused on the rights and protections of the consumer, or the client.  Thus, determining whether conveying real estate should be restricted to those licensed to practice law begs the analysis of how such a restriction benefits or protects the consumer, including analysis of whether protections offered by such a restriction outweigh any benefits such a restriction would remove.

This note analyzes the practice of non-lawyers conducting real estate transactions and whether this constitutes unauthorized practice of law, focusing specifically on the question of whether the American Bar Association-enforced canons of professional responsibility or the Model Rules of Professional Conduct sufficiently protect consumers to give rise to the prohibition of conveyancing by non-lawyers.  This note will argue that non-lawyer conveyancers are more likely to conduct real estate transactions with solely their own interests in mind, and are less likely to adequately consider and represent the interests of their clients.  Therefore, to the end of protecting the public’’s interest, the practice of conveyancing should be limited to attorneys. . . .