Former Judge Timothy H. Bellas, CNMI Bar Association disciplinary committee chairman, said Rule 17 of the CNMI Disciplinary Rules also state that “any person who practices law in the commonwealth without being admitted to practice law in the commonwealth…shall be subject to discipline under there rules.”
He added that under the criminal statutes of the CNMI, any such person “is guilty of the unauthorized practice of law and ca be prosecuted criminally and, if convicted, punished by up to one year imprisonment or a fine of not more than $,2000 or both.”
In an interview, United Workers Movement, NMI president Irene Tantiado said they will no longer seek legal assistance from the Philippine lawyers, but they will continue to seek online counsel from them on Philippine legal matters.
“We’re not taking this notice from CNMI Bas Association as a threat,” she said.
Her group, she added, will now try to seek free legal service from CNMI lawyers.
The group is being assisted by a local lawyer, Robert Myers, in the filing of a lawsuit over unpaid wages owed to displaced guest workers.
