Suspended Lawyer Held for Practicing

An attorney who was suspended by the state Supreme Court in 1991 but who allegedly used his 1979 Cadillac as a mobile law office was arrested Wednesday and charged with 12 counts of practicing law with a suspended license.

Richard Norman Potack was being held in downtown County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail after his arrest in a sting operation by district attorney investigators.

Potack, 41, had to take the bus to get arrested Wednesday, authorities said. Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Boles said buses have been the only means of transportation available to Potack since his Cadillac was impounded two weeks ago for unpaid parking tickets.

Boles said that Potack met his clients in restaurants and other public places, because he had no office. Clients contacted Potack by dialing a telephone pager, Boles said. Since he had no office, Potack stored his files in the car that was impounded.

“Mostly, he takes the money from clients and then doesn’t bother showing up in court. But he has appeared in a few cases,” said Boles. “ . . . He called his alleged clients two weeks ago, trying to get money from them to get his car out.”

On Wednesday, Potack rode the bus to a Hillcrest delicatessen to meet with what he thought was a client, authorities said. The client turned out to be a district attorney investigator, who promptly took Potack into custody.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Potack was suspended for four years by the California Supreme Court on Aug. 12, 1991. Earlier, Potack had been suspended by the California Bar Assn. for not paying his dues, Boles said.

The reason for Potack’s current suspension is unknown, because disciplinary action against attorneys is secret. However, district attorney records showed that Potack’s drivers license was suspended last Dec. 10 for a drunk-driving conviction. In addition, Boles said, Potack has a court appearance scheduled Friday on another drunk-driving charge.

According to Boles, prosecutors were led to Potack by three defendants who were charged last year in a $1-million welfare fraud case. Potack allegedly attempted to represent a husband and wife who were charged in the case. After they were charged, the couple and a third defendant reportedly mentioned to investigators that Potack was interested in representing them.