This guy has them all....

http://www.itapllc.com/CompanyInfo/Personnel%20Hugo.htm

I would think being a tax strategist with his unaccredited history would be a legal stretch. I see lawsuits when it comes to taxes.

 

Perhaps. However, he is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). As I understand it, this is a tightly controlled designation that requires x number of industry-approved courses every 2-3 years (I think) to remain in good standing and continue to use the CFP title. As for his other questionable credentials....

Bob

 

The CFP requires 5 graduate-level courses, all of which can be done via distance learning. In fact, it is half the master's degree at American College. I would equate it to the life insurance industry's CLU. They both are legitimate and difficult.

As for his academic background, the Washington School of Law (since renamed) is unaccredited but pretty legit. It is actully accredited by the unrecognized NAPNSC. The fake naturopathy degree, though, ugh!

Rich Douglas

 

Oh, and the J.D. from LaSalle! Disgusting!

Rich Douglas

 

I'd like to second Rich Douglas on this one--this guy's CFP should be sufficient to support his work as a taxation expert--according to my brother-in-law the insurance agent (who has been in the business around fifteen years and also has a CLU and a CFP himself), the training that he would have received in order to get his CFP designation would be enough to confirm him as a someone who knows what he is talking about. I do admit that the rest of his "degrees" do tend to make him look shady, but all he needs for the CFP would be his BS from the Univ. of Tulsa and/or five years experience in insurance/financial planning. My understanding is that CFPs have to comply to a rather rigorous ethical code, so this guy probably stays well within the parameters of his job description.

One question--he does note that he is a member of the American Bar Association, but he doesn't mention that he is a member of a state bar. I thought that to be a member, one who have to have passed the state bar exam.

Does Utah have the same rule as California does concerning graduates of non-ABA approved law schools--you can take and pass the state bar and practice within our borders, but if you try and practice anywhere else in the US, you're screwed?

That still has nothing to do with his competency as a certified financial planner--just curious about that one.

Thanx

Scott

 

First, I personally don't know if one can have some form of membership in the ABA without being admitted to the state bar.

Two, this guy isn't a lawer. If he was, his listing would read entirely differently.

Three, neither of his "law" degrees qualifies him to practice law in Utah, California, or anywhere else in the solar system.

The jailed founder of LaSalle University originally founded Southland University in California, whose graduates were allowed to sit for the California Bar. (I don't know that any of them ever passed.) But things were a lot more loose back then in California, so that doesn't say much. By the time he'd moved on--eventually ending up in Louisiana and changing the name of the school to LaSalle, Southland had already been raided by the F.B.I. as part of DipScam. No indictments on that one, but the state pulled the school's authorization. They grandfathered the graduates, giving them a period (7 years?) to pass the bar. But this did not extend to the LaSalle operation in Louisiana.

I don't care if this guy has an accredited bachelor's, a CFP, and a reasonably-not-awful degree from Washington School of Law; it's all very deceitful. A case of fraud could be made by a customer who was convinced, in part, to do business with him or his company if said customer was influenced by that pair of bogus LaSalle degrees.

Rich Douglas

 

My wife (a 2L in the evening division) and almost all of her classmates are members of the ABA. It means she wrote a cheque to them for something like $40. It does not mean she can practice law (well, she can, but in Belgium, not Indiana. Long story.)

Indiana Bar Association? A different story entirely.

jmbp
----
grading exams

------------------
J. M. B. Porter, PhD
Lecturer in World History

 

Nor, to his credit, does he claim to be one.

An old friend teaches law at an ancient Scottish University. She has a BA in International Relations, an LL.M., and a PhD (Law). Yet she is not a lawyer . . .

jmbp
----
briefly thought about going to law school (I got better)


------------------
J. M. B. Porter, PhD
Lecturer in World History

 

I didn't mean to imply he was posing as one (sorry about the typo). But some people might be tempted to draw the conclusion that someone with two law degrees (or so it seems) might also be an attorney.

The use of a professional degree outside its intended professional setting can be troubling. It is natural to assume somone with a J.D. is a lawyer, even though many people do realize this might not be the case. For years, California allowed unaccredited schools to offer a 3-year non-bar-qualifying J.D. along side thier 4-year bar-qualifying programs. (Typically, the programs were the first 3 years of the 4-year programs.) Also, many schools not approved to offer bar-qualifying programs still offered non-bar-qualifying J.D. degrees.

My wife once worked with an RN who'd been a physician in another country, but couldn't pass the boards here in the U.S. Needless to say, no one addressed him as "doctor," even though he had the academic title.

Rich Douglas

 

Rich, do you sleep? I just saw that your post was at 3:48am.

 

That's Pacific Daylight Time. I'm not in that time zone. I posted that right before I took off for work, I believe.

Rich, who wishes he was back home in San Diego.

 

Ah. I see. Actually, I've been up at that time in the morning if it's been a restless night.

bing

 

Easy Rich, LaSalle has not offered Law Degrees since the reorganization in 1997 and conversion to Orion late last year. Thus, your phrase "bogus LaSalle degrees" is probably accurate. Nevertheless, with the MIGS-Levincoff fiasco still fresh, you should remember the glass house rule!

RK

 

In reference to the ABA membership, the magic word is "associate."

Visit the ABA site at http://abanet.org and you will find that for dues of $115, associate membership is available to "Individuals who are not admitted to practice law in any jurisdiction, but have an interest in the work of the American Bar Association."

So, a person claiming to be an Associate Member of the ABA should, minimally, have "an interest in the work of the ABA" and $115.

It's a bit more pricey than associate membership in the National Geographic Society, but just as meaningful.

Christopher

 

Sorry. I forgot the www. The correct link for the ABA is http://www.abanet.org

 

Whether or not MIGS is a "glass house" isn't the point, and has very little to do with me (and nothing to do with what I say or do).

You should back off the ad hominem comments, spell Steve's name right, and stick to the issues.

Rich Douglas

 

An interesting OT page about ad hominem and the proper response:
http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/attack.htm

Rich Douglas

 

Quite the contrary, my reply was not an argumentum ad hominem . My point remains, "its all very deceitful" is far more ipse dixit than ipso facto. While this board has returned civility to the topics at hand, there remains an occasional desire to introduce a casus belli, declared following a demonstration in the proficiency of a Google.Com search. Rather than continue to occasionally lurk, this time I chose to post. Nontraditional education has moved from sui generis into the mainstream. If you want to play 20 Latin phrases, I can compete. However, surely there is more value here than launching threads attacking some unsuspecting person out there in web land. Why not spend valuable time focusing on the issues at hand. The value in this, res ipsa loquitur.

RK

 

Randy:

I used the term not to impress but only because it has been used on this board frequently to describe just what you're doing. A new person to this board might be served well to review its archives.

You know what it means, but you still persist....enjoy. I'll take a pass.

Rich Douglas

 

I would respectfully request that any back-and-forth about whether or not an attack has occurred, whether it is justified, who can better quote Latin, or anything of the sort be taken to private email.

It really isn't in keeping of either the spirit of what we're trying to do or the topic at hand.

Thanks!!

Chip