DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN)—A woman in Dripping Springs was recently arrested and charged with pretending to be a lawyer.
Nichole Humes — who worked for the Dorothy Butler Law Firm — was formally charged with ‘Falsely presenting oneself as a lawyer,’ based on alleged misrepresentations in September 2022.
The law firm’s owner, Dorothy Lawrence, denies being aware of any wrongdoing.
“I was aware that Nichole was not a licensed attorney in the state of Texas,” Lawrence said. “This isn’t the notario situation that people see down on the border where somebody just decided one day, I’m going to open up shop and call myself an attorney. This woman holds a JD, she is an attorney, she practiced law for over a decade.”
Humes was arrested on July 4, after an investigation, according to Hays County court records.
Lawrence said Humes worked as a paralegal for her firm.
“Nichole actually graduated from law school. She practiced law in both Pennsylvania and Illinois prior to working with my firm,” Lawrence said. “She had applied for reciprocity within the state of Texas, and was waiting on that.”
According to Lawrence, Humes never lied about not having a license to practice law in the state.
“She was not doing any work that she was unauthorized to do, to my knowledge,” Lawrence said.
Still, Lawrence’s firm fired Humes at the end of last year, after the allegations came to light.
“I could not have someone in the firm that I did not feel was 100% trustworthy and honest,” Lawrence said....
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