An immigration services office in El Cajon has been seized by the State Bar of California, which alleges that the owner of the business has been misrepresenting herself as an attorney on immigration and family law issues.
The State Bar`s Office of Chief Trial Counsel (OCTC) accused Maria Leanos of the unlawful practice of law for operating a law office without a license. The office was seized on Oct. 1 after the San Diego County Superior Court approved the OCTC`s petition to take control of the property.
“From her law office business signs to firsthand accounts and inconsistent statements, Ms. Leanos’s actions provide ample evidence that she engaged in the unauthorized practice of law,” George Cardona, the State Bar`s chief trial counsel, said in a prepared statement. “As reported to the State Bar, it appears that she misrepresented her status and qualifications to immigrants in need of legitimate legal representation.”
The probe of Leanos’s activities began late last year when her niece filed a State Bar complaint indicating that her aunt was operating a business under the name “Law Office of Maria Leanos.” In addition, many of Leanos’s social media followers became convinced that she was a licensed lawyer, the niece’s complaint said.
An OCTC investigator who visited the El Cajon office in May saw that a sign outside the building read, “The Law Offices of Maria Leanos.” The investigator also discovered additional signs and business cards inside the office describing Leanos as a licensed attorney.
One sign stated, “In the law office of Maria Leanos, first you pay and then services will be rendered,” the State Bar reported.
Leanos has denied promoting herself as an attorney and told the State Bar that she was bonded as an immigration consultant with the state Secretary of State’s Office. But the State Bar concluded that she was registered as a consultant only between the years 2017 and 2020.
In an email to the Southern California Record, the State Bar said Leanos had no immigration consultant license when the OCTC began investigating her business. Consultants can perform certain limited services but they are not allowed to offer legal advice.
“Immigrant communities are often preyed on by bad actors engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, some of which are immigration consultants,” the State Bar said in the email. “In Latin America, notaries (notarios) are allowed to provide certain legal advice in their respective countries but not in the U.S. where it is against the law.”
The OCTC seized seven boxes of client files as a result of the seizure of the office, according to the State Bar. Leanos’s clients and former clients can seek the return of their files by contacting the State Bar at (213) 765-1649. Leanos’s law office also did business as Latino Unidos Immigration and Mejia Income Tax, investigators said.
The seizure of the El Cajon office comes in the wake of last month’s seizure of an El Monte immigration-services firm that was also allegedly providing legal services without proper authorization. The State Bar reported in September that the practice of Elena Orizabal in the Los Angeles area was an example of an unauthorized practice of law.
The State Bar stressed that attorneys licensed in other states are allowed to practice in California. Lawyers who practice federal immigration law in other states, for example, are allowed to practice in California, the State Bar reported.