New Haven Man Charged With Practicing Law Without License

NEW HAVEN, CT —A city man has been arrested on charges that he was practicing law without a license, according to a statement from the state Department of Criminal Justice. Jerome Dunbar, 56, of 193 Bassett St., New Haven, was arrested Wednesday and charged with seven counts of unauthorized practice of law.

He was held on $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court July 29.

Dunbar was being investigated for motor vehicle violations by the New Haven Police Department, which determined that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest in the unauthorized practice of law, according to the statement.

The crime is a class D felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 on each count.

According to a warrant for his arrest, Dunbar is not, and never was, an attorney licensed in Connecticut, but in at least seven instances filed paperwork or actually appeared in court representing himself to be an attorney. He was advised by the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel on several occasions not to represent himself as an attorney, the warrant states.

The case is being prosecuted by the Statewide Prosecution Bureau.