Employers’ Association Can’t Provide Legal Advice, 4th Cir. Says

A North Carolina trade association’s multi-year quest to provide legal services to its members ran into another wall April 19 when the Fourth Circuit ruled against it.

North Carolina laws prohibiting the practice of law by corporations are constitutional and don’t infringe Capital Associated Industries Inc.'s rights to association, free speech, or due process, the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit said.

Nor are the laws vague or in violation of the state constitution’s ban on monopolies, the court said in an opinion by Judge Albert Diaz.

CAI is a membership association of North Carolina employers, according to ...