Greenville man accused of impersonating lawyer

SC man accused of impersonating a lawyer in multiple courts. That's not the only fiction we found.

July 10, 2024 | Original

GREENVILLE — Nathan Chambers says on LinkedIn he knows how to litigate, attended UC Berkeley and has a "passion for the law."

The problem is he isn't actually a lawyer, despite appearing in court as one.

Chambers has been charged with using his father's name and pretending to be an attorney on behalf of a criminal defendant in Greenville County, according to arrest warrants released by the State Law Enforcement Division.

He's also been arrested after allegedly submitting numerous filings under his father's name — John Edward Chambers Jr. — in nearby Oconee County and appearing in court as part of what has developed into a bizarre probate case that has gotten attention online.

With 85,000 views and more than 3,000 comments, a YouTube video depicts Jason Boyle refusing to stop recording at the Oconee County Probate Court window May 29. A South Carolina Supreme Court order allows people to use electronics in common areas, but not at the clerk's window or counter.

Judge Danny Singleton, on the spot, held Boyle in contempt of court and sentenced him to 10 days in jail. After Boyle published the video and admittedly called the judge "crooked" and unqualified, Singleton held a contempt hearing to consider further punishment for allegedly defaming the court.

Sitting next to him during the hearing, Boyle's self-proclaimed "officer of the court" was Nathan Chambers.

A chance meeting

Boyle's fiancé is Dorothy Pierce, a Seneca woman involved in a yearslong contentious dispute over the estate of her late husband. She said she had no idea Chambers wasn't a lawyer when she paid him $14,000 up front to take on her case.

"Nathan had presented himself to me that he was a lawyer," Pierce told The Post and Courier in an interview. "The first message he sent me was, 'This is Attorney Nathan Chambers,' and I had no reason to doubt him. The guy knew the law better than any lawyer I had ever met."

Pierce said that earlier this year Boyle met Chambers outside the Oconee County Courthouse. Boyle told her he had met a brilliant, outspoken lawyer curious about taking on her case.

At the time, Pierce was hesitant. She had represented herself for years, and she was skeptical of lawyers and the investment it would take. But once Boyle was jailed and the judge began to question her failure to pay an invoice for records she requested, she felt she had no other choice than to hire a lawyer as soon as possible.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Pierce said she paid Chambers $2,000 over PayPal and another $500 in cash to represent her and Boyle, according to an Oconee County Sheriff's Office incident report.

Two days later, a seven-page motion was filed asking Singleton to reconsider his decision and release Boyle, according to a copy The Post and Courier obtained through a public records request.

The motion was signed: "John Chambers, Esq."

Days later, Nathan Chambers appeared in court alongside Boyle. He spoke up to defend Boyle, cross-examined a clerk the judge had called to relay what happened and took notes.

At one point, Singleton became exasperated with Boyle and questioned him about his role in giving legal advice to his fiancée over the past several years.

"Do you understand that offering legal advice (without being an attorney) is illegal in this state? You understand that?" Singleton asked Boyle.

"I don't know about that," Boyle replied.

"I'm telling you. ... Mr. Chambers, would giving somebody legal advice (without being an attorney), would that be unlawful practice?" Singleton asked Chambers, frustrated and citing his 34 years of experience.

"Absolutely," Chambers replied.

John Edward Chambers Jr., attorney at law

Between June 2023 and November 2023, arrest warrants accuse Nathan Chambers of filing documents with the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office under the name of his father, John Edward Chambers Jr.

Which Greenville County case or cases Nathan Chambers was a part of could not immediately be identified. Deputy Solicitor Andrew Culbreath said he would not share any details about the case, which the state is prosecuting.

Spokespersons with SLED and the state attorney general's office declined to comment, calling it an ongoing case.

When asked to search for cases where Nathan Chambers is listed as an attorney, the Greenville County Clerk of Court's office said it could not find any cases in their system because they can only search by an attorney's registered bar numbers. When searching by John Chambers' bar number, only three cases came up. Those cases were when he defended his son on criminal drug possession charges in 2014. Nathan Chambers pleaded guilty and received probation not long after.

The Post and Courier scheduled an interview with Chambers for 4 p.m. July 9, but he did not show. The Oconee County Sheriff's Office reports having booked him into the jail at 5 p.m. that day.

John Chambers did not respond to requests for comment.

Did father know what son was doing?

In the Greenville arrest warrants, authorities say that Nathan Chambers took on the case last year behind his father's back, but the law firm his father worked for believes otherwise.

John Chambers was formerly with Truluck Thomason, a general practice firm in Greenville. Firm partner Devon Puriefoy said in an interview that John Chambers was on a part-time contract, which was terminated the same day the firm learned of the allegations in Greenville County.

Puriefoy said the firm knew when they were hiring John Chambers that his son had a "troubled past" and that he was not allowed in the firm's office.

Puriefoy distanced the firm from the situation, saying John Chambers had been there for only six months and never made courtroom appearances for them.

"Quite frankly, we want nothing to do with whatever John and Nathan have going on," Puriefoy said. "It's not connected to our firm. Nothing they were doing was through our firm."

The South Carolina Bar said that John Chambers is still in good standing. Any disciplinary measures fall under the purview of the State Supreme Court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which does not confirm whether it is investigating an attorney until it's complete.

Nathan Chambers, alleged paralegal

Nathan Chambers might not be a lawyer, but he is listed as a contract paralegal in the state of South Carolina.

The caveat, though, is the Palmetto State has no requirements for who can or can't say they're a paralegal — there's a voluntary certification program, but otherwise anyone can be a paralegal and get listed in the South Carolina Bar's directory.

Chambers is listed as having eight years of experience and eligibility to practice in all 46 counties.

However, Chambers is not a certified paralegal, according to the Bar's separate certified paralegal directory. Neither directory points out that paralegals are not required to be certified in South Carolina. It's only mentioned in an FAQ on a separate page for those curious about certification.

Chambers' email address in the directory is a Gmail account, made up of his name and referencing Pohl PA, a private law firm in Greenville. The same email address was used on documents filed in Pierce's case.

On one of his LinkedIn pages, Chambers said he spent three years as the executive director of Corporate Development for the firm, 2015-18.

When asked by phone whether Chambers ever worked at his firm, Robert Pohl laughed and said the position doesn't even exist. Pohl said John Chambers worked there years ago but that his son was never involved.

Records show the home pictured used to be the residence of Nathan Chambers and is listed as the address for a company he owns.David Ferrara

Other details of Chambers' background in question

Since 2018, Nathan Chambers has listed on LinkedIn that he has been the director of operations at a Greenville company called Celerius Group Limited. A South Carolina Secretary of State business lookup shows the company has existed since 2022 in Chambers' name, but no information about what the business does could be found. The address for the business is a home Chambers does not own in Sans Souci, near Cherrydale Elementary School.

Chambers also said on LinkedIn he received a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. A university spokesman said they could not find Chambers' name in their attendance records.

On another LinkedIn page with his name and photo, Chambers says he spent two years in the Marine Corps, a year as a medical technician at a Greenville hospital and began his own entertainment company in 2017. (The Post and Courier has reached out to the Marine Corps and Prisma Health to confirm these claims.)

"Precision, progression, efficiency," Chambers wrote in his tagline. "Morality is my code."

In 2022, Chambers was also charged with impersonating a Greenville County Sheriff's deputy.

Sheriff's office spokesman Jeremy Holt told The Post and Courier a woman came home to find Chambers' car parked in her driveway as he walked through her backyard.

The woman parked behind Chambers' car, blocking it in. Chambers then allegedly walked up to her and told her to move her car, flashing a Sheriff's Office patch and a business card claiming he was a deputy.

The attorney general took over the case on July.

Picking up the pieces

With the Boyles' case, it didn't take long for the Oconee County Probate Court to realize something wasn't right about Nathan Chambers.

Singleton reported him to the Oconee County Sheriff's Office on June 6. On June 10, Singleton called contempt hearings for later that month to discuss Chambers' "allegedly practicing law without a license" and Pierce's "improper conduct and communication" with the court.

On June 26, the day before the hearings, Chambers was arrested on SLED warrants, accused of pretending to be a lawyer.

However, Pierce was not without counsel for her contempt hearing.

John Chambers, Nathan's father, stepped in to represent Pierce.

Singleton found Pierce in contempt of court and sentenced her to six months in jail for having "knowingly and intentionally engaged in a pattern of conduct designed to undermine and challenge the authority of this Court."

John Chambers has filed an appeal and is taking over for Nathan.

"I don't think John is happy with Nathan at all," Pierce said. "He doesn't even want to talk about it."

Nathan Chambers posted a cash bond the day of the hearing for his charges in Greenville County. Two weeks later, the Oconee County Sheriff's Office placed him under arrest on two charges of practicing law without a license, according to the county jail log.

Chambers remains in custody. He has not chosen an attorney to represent him yet, according to court records.