Unlicensed lawyer worked on USDA bias claims

Unlicensed lawyer worked on USDA bias claims
By Daniel Pulliam
dpulliam@govexec.com




A former Justice Department employee who worked on racial discrimination settlements between black farmers and the Agriculture Department lacked a license to practice law and is facing criminal charges in California.


Margaret O'Shea, a 38-year-old University of Pennsylvania Law School graduate, worked at the Monterey County Public Defender's Office from August to late September this year, handling 86 cases in a three-week period. Her supervisors, however, determined that she was not an accredited attorney.


From April to September 2002, O'Shea worked at the Justice Department as a general attorney, and was assigned to work on claims involving the $650 million settlement between the Agriculture Department and black farmers. The landmark racial discrimination case, Pigford vs. Veneman, alleged that black farmers were denied loans from the Agriculture Department because of their race.


According to the National Black Farmers Association, O'Shea negotiated a class of settlement cases that amount to as much as $4 million. The Justice Department may have to renegotiate the claims if a court determines that O'Shea did not have authority to sign government contracts.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1204/122204p1.htm

nor is there such a thing as an "accredited lawyer" . . . these goons cannot write a story!

A person is:

1.) a layperson (not a lawyer), or
2.) a licensed attorney-at-law (also called a "lawyer").

Thus, if this person did not have a license to practice law, then s/he was not a lawyer. Simple, really.

Language and its correct use is important when writing journalism. And these clowns need lessons in language and journalism.

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