Practice Management Flashcards
Paralegals are permitted to provide legal services through:
- sole practice or proprietorship
- general partnership under the Partnerships Act
- limited liability partnership (LLP) under the Partnerships Act
- a civil society org (CSO)
- a professional corporation under the Business Corporations Act
For the purposes of the Paralegal Rules, marketing includes:
- firm name, incl trademark
- letterhead
- business cards
- logos and
- advertisements and other similar communications in various media
All marketing must be
- demonstrably true, accurate and verified
- neither misleading, confusing or deceptive, nor likely to mislead, confuse or deceivec, and
- in the best interests of the public and consistent with a high standard of professionalism
What is bait and switch marketing?
marketing by which clients are attracted by offers of services, prices or terms different from those commonly provided to clients who respond to marketing
Paralegals must disclose…
if their practice refers clients or has a fee or other consideration for other licensees re referrals
A paralegal/firm may advertise feed charged for legal services if:
- advertising is reasonably precise as to the services offered for each fee quoted
- the advertising states whether other amounts will be charged in addition to the fee, such as disbursments and taxes
- the paralegal strictly adheres to the advertised fee in every applicable case
What are conflict names?
the names of individuals/entities that have some relationship to the client, prospective client, or matter that may give rise to a conflict of interest
If a file is to be destroyed, the paralegal should determine:
- the date the file is to be destroyed, considering any legal or regulatory requirements; and
- the manner of file destruction to preserve confidentiality.
A paralegal’s financial obligations include:
- meeting financial obligations incurred on the client’s behalf
- fulfilling financial responsibilities related to operating the paralegal’s legal services practice; and
- must satisfy financial reporting and compliance requirements.
Which rule requires that paralegals assume complete responsibility for
all business entrusted to them, including the direct supervision of tasks and work products completed by their employees.
Paralegals who employ lawyers may only
supervise the lawyer in respect of matters that fall within the paralegal’s permitted scope of practice as defined under By-Law 4
What are paralegal’s administrative duties?
1/ file w LSO notice of change for any names, practice status, contact information, location, and account number of any trust accounts, per Bylaw 8
2/ notify the LSO of changes in info re business structure or practice arrangement, per Bylaw 7
3/ pay an annual fee to the LSO, due March 31st per year, per Bylaw 5
4/ submit an annual report to the LSO, due March 31st, per bylaw 8
5/ maintain professional liability insurance, per bylaw 6
6/ complete the required annual CPD hours by December 31st each year and report these hours to the LSO by March 31st the following year, per bylaw 6.1
7/ meet other requirements related to business structure, per bylaw 7, if applicable, and
8/ meet other requirements related to business structure per by-law 7
9/ meet other requirements, related to bankruptcy or insolvency and offences, per bylaw 8
What does PIPEDA apply to?
organizations that collect, use or disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities
What are the 10 principles of PIPEDA?
- accountability
- identifying purposes
- consent
- limiting collection
- limiting use, disclosure and retention
- accuracy
- safeguards
- openness
- indivdual access; and
- challenging compliance.
What is the PIPEDA definition of personal information?
information about an indentifiable individual, recorded or not, and includes age, identification numbers, income, ethnic origin, employee files, evaluations, credit and loan records, and medical records.
PIPEDA does not apply to
business contact information, as long as it is collected, used or disclosed solely for the purpose of communicating/facilitating communication with the individual in relation to their employment, business or profession
PIPEDA states that the consent of an individual is only valid if
it is reasonable to expect that an individual to whom the organization’s activities are directed would understand the nature, purpose and consequences of the collection of information
PIPEDA may permit the disclosure of personal information without consent in situations such as
a lawful authority requesting personal information for the purposes of administering any law of Canada/provinces. BUT paralegal RUles may prevent such disclosure
The Commissioner has found that law practices are required to respond to a request for access to personal information within
30 days, even if they have no information that is responsive to the request.
The 30 day time limit for disclosures may be extended where
meeting the time limit would unreasonably interfere with the activities of the practice.
Access to information should be provided with minimal or
no cost to the individual
PIPEDA s9(3) provides a list of
circumstances where access to personal information may be refused
Accordingto the Commissioner,do paralegals need to report breaches of security safeguards?
Yes, as of November 1, 2018, must report breaches to the Commissioner, affected individuals, third parties, and keep a record of all breaches
what is the PIPEDA definition of a breach of security safeguards?
the loss of, unauthorized access to or unauthorized disclosure of personal information resulting from a breach of an organization’s security safeguards, or from a failure to establish those safeguards (s2(1))
