Strange Lawyer Story of the Week: Former Lawyer Sentenced for Practicing Without Law Degree

For the past 10 years, Kimberly Kitchen has been practicing law - and has been a partner at the BMZ Law Firm. Kitchen was also a former president of the Huntingdon County Bar Association. The only problem is that Kitchen does not have a law degree, never attended law school, and did not pass the bar exam.

So how can someone pretend to be a lawyer for 10 years? As it turns out, Kitchen lied about her credentials and experience, forged bar exam documents, and talked a very good game. She also had many clients throughout the ten years that she was part of the BMZ law group.

Sentencing

Kitchen’s massive secret was discovered when one of her partners began putting together a list of senior lawyers. Upon looking for information about Kitchen’s degree and teaching experience (she claimed to have taught at Columbia University Law School), things did not add up. One thing led to another and Kitchen’s lack of law degree was discovered.

A court ruled this week that Kitchen would serve two to five years in prison for charges of felony records tampering, forgery, and unauthorized practice of law.

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