Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the Atlantic and Maryland Reporters. Users are requested to notify the Clerk of the Court of any formal errors so that corrections may be made before the bound volumes go to press. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS No. 17-BG-1430 IN RE AHMED M. ELHILLALI, RESPONDENT. A Special Legal Consultant Licensed by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (Registration No. 446927) On Report and Recommendation of the Board on Professional Responsibility (Board Docket No. 16-BD-030) (Bar Docket Nos. 2012-D330 and 2014-D029) (Submitted December 17, 2018 Decided January 3, 2019) Before FISHER and MCLEESE, Associate Judges, and NEBEKER, Senior Judge. PER CURIAM: The Board on Professional Responsibility (“Board”) recommends that respondent Ahmed M. Elhillali’s license as a Special Legal Consultant be revoked, without any right to reapply for this license for five years. The Board also recommends that respondent not be granted a license after the revocation period unless he pays restitution and proves his fitness to practice as a Special Legal Consultant. Although respondent contested the charges before the Hearing Committee, he withdrew his exceptions to its report and did not file any exceptions to the Board’s report. Disciplinary Counsel did not file any exceptions 2 to the Board’s report either. For the following reasons, we adopt the Board’s recommendation. I. Factual Summary Since no exceptions have been filed, the Board’s findings of fact are undisputed. This court admitted respondent as a Special Legal Consultant in 1995; he is not licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction in the United States. Special Legal Consultants are allowed to provide advice about the law of the foreign country in which they are licensed, but are not permitted to provide “legal advice on or under the law of the District of Columbia or of the United States or of any state, territory, or possession thereof.” D.C. App. R. 46 (c)(4)(D)(5) (2008). 1 Respondent falsely held himself out as an attorney licensed to practice in the District of Columbia by maintaining a website for “The Law Office of Ahmed 1 A requirement for obtaining a Special Legal Consultant license is the applicant’s admission to practice in a foreign country. D.C. App. R. 46 (c)(4)(A)(1) (1995); D.C. App. R. 46 (f)(1)(A) (2016). Although respondent passed the bar exam in Sudan in 1978, he did not obtain a Sudanese law license until 1996, after he was granted Special Legal Consultant status. 3 Elhillali,” with offices in Virginia and the District of Columbia. 2 While representing clients, respondent referred to himself as “attorney of record,” “counselor,” and “attorney and a member in good standing” and formally entered his appearance as an attorney in immigration cases on at least ten occasions. For example, respondent misrepresented himself to be an attorney and accepted fees in an immigration matter for Mr. Jamal Jubara Ragab Kabu and held himself out as an attorney to Mr. Omer Elsadig Abbas Ali. Respondent also falsely testified before the Hearing Committee. The Hearing ...
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