![\"Lawyer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/7CXBT7YURVGZRBEETT36LLSVOM.JPG\")
Lawyer Flyer sent to Maui(Huff, Daryl | HNN)<\/p>\nHONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) \u2014 A Texas attorney who illegally solicited Maui wildfire victims through mass mailings was sentenced to pay court fees but avoided jail time and will not have a criminal conviction on his record.<\/p>\n
Houston attorney Eric Dick sent flyers to 27,000 addresses on Maui despite not being licensed to practice law in Hawaii.<\/p>\n
Although the attorney general received multiple complaints about out-of-state lawyers soliciting wildfire victims, Dick was the only one charged with a crime.<\/p>\n
Flyers promised legal help<\/p>\n
The flyers said \u201cyou may be entitled to money\u201d and \u201cWe are helping your friends and neighbors protect their legal rights and want to help you.\u201d They offered easy steps to sign up with the Dick law firm using a cell phone.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Flyer sent to Maui(Huff, Daryl | HNN)<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can demonize me as much as you want. It doesn\u2019t bother me,\u201d Dick said in an interview with HawaiiNewsNow before he was charged.<\/p>\n
An undercover investigator posed as a victim and recorded Dick\u2019s pitch, leading the attorney general to charge him with four misdemeanor counts of unauthorized practice of law and attempted unauthorized practice.<\/p>\n
Defense argued no clients meant no crime<\/p>\n
Dick never signed up a Hawaii client, prompting his attorney to try to get the case dismissed in July. Judge Peter Cahill rejected that argument.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were no clients. How can you practice law without a client your honor?\u201d Dick\u2019s attorney David Cain argued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not authorized to do so because he is not a licensed attorney in this state,\u201d Cahill responded.<\/p>\n
Sentence only includes court fees<\/p>\n
Last week Dick pleaded no contest to all four counts via Zoom without a plea agreement. The attorney general\u2019s office requested a week in jail and a fine, but Judge Cahill only required Dick to pay $220 to the Crime Victims Compensation fund \u2014 a standard court fee.<\/p>\n
The judge wrote, \u201cIt appears to the Court that the Defendant is not likely to again engage in criminal conduct and that the ends of justice and the welfare of society do not require that the Defendant should presently suffer the penalty imposed by law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attorney general said Dick gave $1,000 each to four Lahaina public schools without being asked by either the AG or the court.<\/p>\n
Bar association calls case significant<\/p>\n
Hawaii Bar Association President Mark Murakami said an attorney being charged with a crime and facing professional discipline sends a significant message even if the sentence doesn\u2019t seem all that tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad that the attorney general took the stand and enforced the law as written,\u201d Murakami said. \u201cI think that he\u2019s a widely respected, well-regarded judge, and he called the case that was in front of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The judge ordered that if the fees were paid by Dec. 9, there would be no conviction on Dick\u2019s record. The Supreme Court\u2019s Office of Disciplinary Counsel confirmed it is still pursuing sanctions against him and several other out-of-state attorneys, 28 months after the wildfires.<\/p>\n
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