‘Brazen’ law graduate convicted for posing as a solicitor to appeal

A LAW graduate who bragged about being a qualified lawyer on social media actually did a “reasonable” job compared to other “incompetent” solicitors, a court has heard.

This was not the kind of court appearance Jacob Reichman, right, had in mind. Picture: Annette Dew

A YOUNG law graduate from the Gold Coast convicted of posing as a solicitor says he was only following orders and will lodge an appeal.

Jacob Lazar Reichman was fined $1500, ordered to pay $4000 in costs and had a conviction recorded in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

It’s the second time the 24-year-old has been charged with engaging in legal practice when not entitled, having pleaded guilty to a similar charge in 2014 after being caught out on Instagram.

That charge related to his time as a work experience student in 2011, when Reichman blamed his Attention Deficit Disorder and desire to impress his family for the lapse in judgment.

In 2014, the court then examined Reichman’s social media accounts, which revealed that he had posted screen-grabs of himself acting in a legal capacity on Channel 9 News on Facebook and LinkedIn, plus Instagram images with the hashtags: #lawyer, #younglawyer and #criminallawyers, the Courier Mail reports.

Reichman, who is now in his sixth year of employment as a legal clerk with Gold Coast barrister Chris Rosser, said this new conviction could prevent him becoming a lawyer and vowed to appeal.

Law graduates must complete additional qualifications before they can practice as solicitors, and criminal convictions may prevent them from being admitted to practice.

“I feel unjustly targeted in this case as I was simply doing as my employer told me to do, I never had my own clients nor did I set up my own firm,” Reichman said in a statement.

“Whilst I respect the court’s ruling, the present advice from my experienced legal representatives is that I must appeal this decision to a higher court to obtain a just result.”

Magistrate Noel Nunan said Reichman was “brazen” to again act as a solicitor after he’d been fined $1000 two years ago.

He did not believe a conviction would preclude Reichman from becoming a lawyer and even praised him for his work during interviews, saying: “It looked like he was doing a reasonable job during all of these interviews.”

“There’s a lot of incompetent solicitors running around the place, giving legal advice, giving criminal legal advice. I see it daily.”

Reichman, who moved to the Gold Coast from Melbourne to take up a scholarship with Bond University, was found to have acted in a legal capacity 12 times during visits to police stations and a watch house.

Originally published as ‘Brazen’ law graduate convicted for posing as a solicitor to appeal