1 - Intro to Paralegal Career Flashcards
continuing legal education (CLE)
training in the law (usually short term) received after completing formal legal training or becoming employed
certification
process by which a non-government organization grants recognition to a person who has met the qualifications set by the organization
traditional paralegal
paralegal who is an employee of an attorney
transactional paralegal
provides paralegal services for an attorney who represents clients in a transaction (e.g. planning an estate, incorporating a business, closing a sale)
independent contractor
self-employed person who operates their own business and contracts to perform tasks for others
freelance/contract paralegal
works as an independent contractor under the supervision of, and is accountable to, a lawyer
independent paralegal
a) independent contractor who sells paralegal services to and works under the supervision of one or more attorneys
b) independent contractor who sells paralegal services directly to the public without attorney supervision
sole practitioner
an attorney who practices alone (no partners or associates)
document service provider (DSP)
a) a non-attorney without attorney supervision who provides legal document assistance to those representing themselves
b) someone who helps others prepare or process documents
unauthorized practice of law (UPL)
a) using or attempting to use legal skills to help resolves a specific person’s legal problem when the assistance is provided by someone with out a license to practice law and when the assistance requires a license or other authorization
b) a non-attorney’s performance of tasks in a law office without adequate attorney supervision when those tasks are part of the practice of law
c) delegating tasks to a non-attorney that only an attorney can perform
paralegal
a) a person who performs substantive legal tasks on behalf of others when those tasks are supervised by an attorney who would be required to perform these tasks if the office did not have a paralegal
b) a person with legal skills who works under the supervision of an attorney or who is otherwise authorized to use those skills; this person performs tasks that do not require all the skills of an attorney and that most secretaries are not trained to perform
fees
amount charged for services rendered
paralegal fees
fees an attorney can collect for non-clerical work of the attorney’s paralegal (covers substantive legal work done by the paralegal for the client)
contingent fees
fee paid only if the case is successfully resolved in litigation or settlement, regardless of hours spent on the case (contingency)
defense contingent fee
fee for the defendant’s attorney that is dependent on the outcome of the case (negative contingency)
court costs
charges or fees (paid to and imposed by the court) that are directly related to litigation in the court (e.g. court filing fees)
engagement letter
identifies the scope of services to be provided by a professional and the payments to be made for such services
American rule
each party pays own attorney’s fees regardless of who wins
English rule
losing side in litigation must pay winner’s attorney fees (loser pays)
fee-shifting
requiring one part to pay another party’s attorney and paralegal fees because of prior agreement, bad faith, or special statute
bad faith
dishonesty or abuse in one’s purpose or conduct
frivolous
lacking merit, a legal position that cannot be supported by a good faith argument based on existing law or on the need for a change in existing law
aggrieved
injured or wronged part and thereby entitled to a remedy
statutory-fee cases
a case applying a special statute that gives a judge authority to order the losing party to pay the winning party’s attorney and paralegal fees
remedy
a means by which a right is enforced or the violation fo a right is prevented, compensated for, or otherwise readdressed
amicus curiae brief
an appellate brief submitted by a non-party who obtains court permission to file the brief setting out its views on how the case should be resolved (“friend of the court” brief)
lodestar
a) method of calculating an award of attorney fees authorized by a statute (number of reasonable hours spent on the case X prevailing hourly rate in community for similar work by attorneys)
b) other factors considered above the lodestar in setting the fee: quality of representation, any delay in receiving payment, and risk at the outset of litigation that the prevailing attorney will receive no fee
billable
pertaining to those tasks requiring time that can be charged to (and paid by) the client
time keeping
recording time spent on a client matter for purposes of billing and productivity assessment
contemporaneous
existing or occurring in the same period of time; pertaining to records that are prepared regarding events as they are occurring or very shortly thereafter
leveraging
making profit from the income-generating work of others
billable hour quota
minimum number of hours expected from a timekeeper on client matters that can be charged (billed) to clients per week, month, year, or other time period
rule of three
a) general guideline used by some law firms to identify budget expectations from hiring paralegals
b) gross revenue generated through paralegal billing should each 3x a paralegal’s salary (ex. salary $40,000 - billing rate $100/hr - billings $120,000
attorney attestation
signed statement by an attorney that a paralegal applying for membership in an association meets one or more of the criteria of the association, the most common of which is that the paralegal performs paralegal duties
realization rate
percentage of total client billings of an attorney or paralegal that the office actually collects (collection realization rate)
billing realization rate
further breakdown of timekeeper’s billable and non-billable hours (percentage of timekeeper’s total office time that is billable)
overhead
the operating expenses of a business for which customers or clients are not charge a separate fee
assigned counsel
a court-appointed attorney who will represent an indigent person
