Ethics Flashcards
The American Bar Association prefers what term to be used for a new employee screen
Under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the preferred term is “screen” or “to screen”
A paralegal cannot bill for ..
clerical items
Conduit theory
A theory that allows paralegals to pass along to clients legal advice or information given to them from their supervising attorney
ABA model guidelines 10 states that a lawyer shall…
Provides paralegals with CLE
Champerty
an illegal agreement in which a person with no previous interest in a lawsuit finances it with a view to sharing the disputed property if the suit succeeds
Laham Act
REGARDS TO ADVERTISMENT
- No false advertisement
- No substantiated claims
- Pricing did not disclose all charges
- Inaccurate country of origin markings
- Claiming that something meets a certain guideline or standard when no testing was conducted
- Claiming a product is better than another is fine as long as the claim is accurate and substantiated
Most common malpractice
- Poor communications
- Fee misunderstanding
- Substance abuse and stress
- Management incompetence
- Substantive incompetence
How is the negligence of by an attorney proven
Expert testimony within the legal profession in the community
What is the statute of limitations for legal negligence
One year
Integrity is an…
Umbrella duty
Reporting misconduct
- Fink Rules: An attorney reports another attorney’s misconduct
- Judges: reports made it to disciplinary authority in the state
- Rule 8.3: Lawyers dishonest
- Cannot use this as a threat
- Should not encourage client to report
- Paralegals do not have to report; There is no law requiring a paralegal to report
Since 2004 the US Department of labor has considered paralegals…
Nonexempt employees (People who are paid overtime)
Most paralegals are regulated by…
The state’s regulation of employing lawyer:
- The laws that regulate lawyers say that the lawyer is responsible for non-lawyers under his supervision and
- Caselaw says that paralegals and lawyers are bound by the same ethical duties (Richard v. Jain)
What are the different types of regulatory schemes for paralegals
Licensing
Certification
Registration
Title schemes: Some states are looking at regulation from the point of view of restricting the use of terms paralegal and legal assistance to those people with certain qualifications
UPL has a definition in three parts:
- The application of a rule of law
- To a particular persons fact pattern and
- Giving a response or answer