The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 PA 101: Unit

The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/eBy Cheeseman and Goldman

PRENTICE HALL ©2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

PA 101: Unit 3 Lecture 2:

•Any remaining questions about the Unit writing project?•Due today by 11:59 p.m. EST



Intro to Ethics & Professional Intro to Ethics & Professional ResponsibilityResponsibility

• Every profession develops a set of guidelines for those in the profession to follow.

• These may be codes of conduct or ethical guidelines, such as the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers.



Intro to Ethics & Professional Intro to Ethics & Professional Responsibility (cont.)Responsibility (cont.)

• NALA and NFPA have ethics guidelines that set forth the minimum in ethical behavior.

• These ethical guidelines are referred to as Rules of Professional Conduct.

• The ABA (Codes of Conduct) maintains a website that links to other National, State and International ethics resources.



Regulation of the Regulation of the Practice of LawPractice of Law

• Authorized Practice of Law– The practice of law is regulated by states to protect

the public from incompetent & unscrupulous practitioners.

– Various standards concerning knowledge of the law & character references are usually required.

– Although there is some reciprocity, each state has its own requirements.



Regulation of the Regulation of the Practice of Law (cont.) Practice of Law (cont.)

• There are, with a few exceptions, no state licensing requirements for one to work as a paralegal –unlike the procedures that lawyers must follow to practice law.



Regulation of the Regulation of the Practice of Law (cont.)Practice of Law (cont.)

• The state of Pennsylvania has specifically addressed the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) by paralegals and legal assistants.

• The statute addresses concerns that the general public will misinterpret the title of Paralegal as denoting a person admitted to practice law in the commonwealth.



Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL)Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL)

• Someone who practices law without authorization from their state is committing UPL.

• Defined differently in different jurisdictions, but typically includes– Giving legal advice– Providing legal services



Avoiding UPLAvoiding UPL

• # 1: Holding Oneself Out

– Parties with whom the paralegal has contact must know the limited role the paralegal plays on the legal team.



Avoiding UPL (cont.) Avoiding UPL (cont.)

• # 2: Giving Advice

– A paralegal cannot give a legal opinion or give legal advice.

• Test: If legal rights may be affected, it is probably legal advice.




# 3: Filling Out Forms

UPL may consist of a non lawyer who explains, recommends, advises, and assists in the selection, completion, and corrections of errors and omissions of legal forms.




• # 4: Representing Clients– Some jurisdictions and administrative agencies

permit those unlicensed or not admitted to practice to appear in court or before administrative law judges or referees on behalf of clients. Some Federal agencies permit non lawyers to appear.

– Any appearance before a court must be approved carefully. A simple request for a continuance can be considered by some courts to be the practice of law.



UPL GuidelinesUPL Guidelines

• Legal assistants & paralegals should:

– Disclose their status with a client, other attorneys, a court or administrative agency or members of the general public at the outset



UPL Guidelines (cont.) UPL Guidelines (cont.)

Legal assistants and paralegals should not:Establish attorney-client relationships, set legal fees,

give legal opinions or advice, or represent a client before a court, unless authorized to do so by said court: nor

Engage in, encourage, or contribute to any act that could constitute the unauthorized practice of law.



UPL Guidelines (cont.) UPL Guidelines (cont.)

• Legal assistants or paralegals may perform services for an attorney in the representation of a client, provided that:– The services performed do not require the exercise of

independent legal judgment;– The attorney maintains a direct relationship & control of

all matters with the client;– The attorney supervises the legal assistant;– The attorney remains professionally responsible for all

work, including actions NOT taken by the legal assistant/paralegal.



Ethical ObligationsEthical Obligations

• Ethical behavior is expected and required of every member of the legal team: attorney, paralegal, litigation support, information technologist and outside consultants.

• Duty to supervise:– The obligation to ensure ethical conduct is that of

the supervising attorney.



Ethical Obligations (cont.)Ethical Obligations (cont.)

Ethical obligations of lawyers are enforced by the court in the jurisdiction where the attorney is practicing or where the case is being tried.

Ethical Guidelines and Rules: Every profession develops a set of guidelines for those in the profession to follow.



Ethical Obligations (cont.) Ethical Obligations (cont.)

• ABA Model Guidelines for the Utilization of Paralegal Services:– A set of guidelines intended to govern the conduct

of lawyers who supervise paralegals.– Uniformity of Paralegal Ethics: No single source of

ethical rules is set out for the paralegal.– At present, no sanction exists for the paralegal

breach of association rules except loss of membership.




• Paralegal Association Ethics Codes:– 1. National Federal of Paralegal Associations, Inc.

This is a professional organization composed of paralegal associations and individual paralegals throughout the U.S. and Canada.

– 2. National Association of Legal Assistants. This association is the leading professional association for legal assistants.




• COMPETENCE– Competent representation requires the legal

knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for representation.



Assignments for this week:Unit 3: The U.S. Court System: In this unit you will read:

Cheeseman & Goldman – chapter 6. In addition, view web resources about the Electronic Courtroom

and find out information on your state’s courts move toward the E-Courtroom.

Discuss what you have learned on the Discussion Board. Attend lectures 1 and 2 to further explore the concepts

in this unit. Take a short Quiz.Submit your first drop box assignment, which is an essay

on the “U.S. Court System.”

Documents

The Paralegal Professional ESSENTIALS, 2/e By Cheeseman and Goldman PRENTICE HALL 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 PA 101: Unit