...Paralegals are one of the fastest growing careers in the United States. Regardless of this growth, many individuals who do not work in the legal field, and even those who do, are confused by the paralegal’s role. The volume of responsibility an attorney has on their caseload may overshadow the lawyer’s ability to handle all parts of the cases personally. Behind the scenes, a paralegal achieves a lot of functions that attorneys could not complete independently. In her article Haworth, NFPA and the Paralegal Profession- a Partnership explains that paralegals are in demand and have a positive outlook for the future and employment of paralegals is to rise by 20 percent into 2020. As law firms try to decrease costs and increase the effectiveness of legal services, they are expected to hire more paralegals. Haworth discusses that with the partnership between the...
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...NATIONAL FEDERATION OF PARALEGAL ASSOCIATIONS, INC. MODEL CODE OF ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND GUIDELINES FOR ENFORCEMENT PREAMBLE The National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. ("NFPA") is a professional organization comprised of paralegal associations and individual paralegals throughout the United States and Canada. Members of NFPA have varying backgrounds, experiences, education and job responsibilities that reflect the diversity of the paralegal profession. NFPA promotes the growth, development and recognition of the paralegal profession as an integral partner in the delivery of legal services. In May 1993 NFPA adopted its Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility ("Model Code") to delineate the principles for ethics and conduct to which every paralegal should aspire. Many paralegal associations throughout the United States have endorsed the concept and content of NFPA's Model Code through the adoption of their own ethical codes. In doing so, paralegals have confirmed the profession's commitment to increase the quality and efficiency of legal services, as well as recognized its responsibilities to the public, the legal community, and colleagues. Paralegals have recognized, and will continue to recognize, that the profession must continue to evolve to enhance their roles in the delivery of legal services. With increased levels of responsibility comes the need to define and enforce mandatory rules of professional ...
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...Ethics and Professional Responsibility Study Unit By Michael Wilson, Esq. Reviewed By Brian Bastyr, Esq. About the Author Michael Wilson is a freelance writer and college instructor who has had wide legal and educational experience. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Kentucky in 1976 and three years later received his law degree from the same school. He has been a partner in a law firm, a solo practitioner, and has done work in General and Family Mediation. He has also been a fulltime instructor in Paralegal Studies at Sullivan College, Lexington, KY, where he has taught such classes as Legal Research, Advanced Legal Writing and Appellate Practice, and Wills and Estates. He was given the “Teacher of the Year” award in 1997. Mr. Wilson has also had a number of papers published on legal topics in both scholarly and popular journals. About the Reviewer Brian Bastyr is a senior attorney editor for West Group, a legal publishing company. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law. He is currently a member of the Illinois bar, and has published a number of articles in legal journals. All terms mentioned in this text that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Use of a term in this text should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service...
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...The Paralegal Profession and Ethics Based on the reading for this week, describe the role of a paralegal and the skills necessary to be a paralegal. Why are these skills important? Are paralegals able to represent clients? What is attorney-client privilege and how does this relate to the role of a paralegal? Summarize the Biblical Model as presented by Professor Bern. Post: The role of the paralegal: I would say that the role of a paralegal is primarily to assist an attorney, law office, or government agency. But there can be other roles as well that are less common, such as but not limited to assisting individuals in matters involving the social security administration. The roles of the paralegal and what duties they perform can vary widely from the common conception of working under an attorney or law firm by preparing for hearings, trials, meetings, real estate closings, helping draft documents, and even maintaining financial records; to working for federal, state, or local government agencies collecting and analyzing data for internal use as well as preparing information for use by the general public. Thomas F. Goldman & Henry R. Cheeseman, The Paralegal Professional 4, 5 (3rd ed. 2011). The skills of the paralegal: The skills of a paralegal very widely depending upon the type of work the paralegal is specialized in or engaged in. But there are some common skills shared by most paralegals and are very important. These common skills are also known as soft skills...
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...general rule is that the practice of law is limited to those who are licensed after satisfying certain state requirements of education, moral character, and understanding of the law. (Orlik, D, Ethics for the Legal Professional Chapter 2 p. 39. In the first scenario if Polly Paralegal answers Mr. Stan Smith’s question she is committing unauthorized practice of law. The questions states do the grounds for divorce in North Carolina include adultery. Mr. Stan Smith is not asking for legal advice he is simply asking a question. Since Polly Paralegal has knowledge of the law then if and when she answers Mr. Stan Smith’s question she will be applying her knowledge of law to his fact pattern. Unauthorized Practice of Law occurs when the person is seeking legal advice from a person who he knows has legal knowledge but who is not a lawyer. (Orlik, D, Ethics for the Legal Professional Chapter 2 page 41) Although Mr. Stan Smith is asking Polly Paralegal a simple question with no implication on whether he is actually seeking legal advice he is just asking his friend for advice as a friend not a paralegal. It will be unethical of Polly Paralegal having legal knowledge to answer Mr. Stan Smith’s question. Polly Paralegal can resolve this by simply stating to Mr. Stan Smith that she is a paralegal she is not allowed to give legal advice but that she is happy to refer him to a divorce lawyer who can help answer his questions. According to Canon 3 of the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility...
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...Practice of Law Regina Johnson PA253: Legal Ethics Professor Craig Dorne April 22, 2012 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to clearly establish and sustain a viewpoint of UPL (Unauthorized Practice of Law) in the state of Tennessee. The facts state that Mr. Stan Smith calls his friend, Polly Paralegal, and leaves a message asking, “Do the grounds for divorce in Tennessee include adultery?” Later that day, Mrs. Stan Smith calls Polly Paralegal and leaves a message asking, “Do I have grounds for divorce in Tennessee? I just found out that Stan committed adultery.” Questions: 1. If Polly Paralegal answers Mr. Smith’s question, will she have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law? Explain and support your answer with information for at least one authoritative reference source. 2. If Polly Paralegal answers Mrs. Smith’s question, will she have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law? Explain and support your answer with information for at least one authoritative reference source. Unauthorized Practice of Law What is the unauthorized practice of law? What does a paralegal do when they answer friends’ questions? Is Polly Paralegal committing UPL is she gives advice to her friends Mr. and Mrs. Stan Smith? By state statutes and ethics codes and the ABA Model Rules, attorneys are prohibited from aiding in the unauthorized practice of law and have an obligation to supervise their legal assistants and paralegals to ensure that they are not engaging in the...
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...organizations out there for an individual to join or become affiliated with. Each would benefit every individual differently according to their education and/or work field. Houston Metropolitan Paralegal Association (HMPA) is amongst one of these organizations. The (HMPA) was founded in 1973 it was formerly the Houston Legal Assistants Association. The Houston Metropolitan Paralegal Association (“Association”) is a professional organization maintained for the benefit of its members, the legal profession and the general public. (http://houstonparalegals.org/page.asp?p=About%20Us:%20Code%20of%20Ethics. (HMPA’s) goal is to promote the professional advancement of legal assistants in Houston. Members of this organization have dues that they would pay. Being a member of this organization would have a great deal of benefits. A law firm, student studying to be a paralegal, or a legal assistant can be a member of this organization. Keywords: Houston Metropolitan Paralegal Association (HMPA), legal assistants, paralegals, CLE’s, membership, attorney, benefits, law office Houston Metropolitan Paralegal Association According to the State Bar of Texas of Directors, and the Paralegal Division of the State Bar of Texas, adopted a new definition for “Paralegal:” a paralegal is a person, qualified through various combinations of education, training, or work experience, who is employed or engaged by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency, or other entity in a capacity...
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...The ethics rules governing conflicts of interest are based on the duties of loyalty and confidentiality. These duties are threatened when a paralegal has an interest that is adverse to a client’s, whether personal or business one. A lawyer is responsible for ensuring paralegal conflict of interest does not exist. p. 68. NALA code of ethics Canon 8 states a paralegal must disclose to his or her employer or prospective employer any pre-existing client or personal relationship that may conflict with the interests of the employer or perspective employer and/or their clients. p. 204. A long standing rule strongly disfavors gifts from clients to lawyers, therefore the same rule applies to a paralegal. The inherent conflict in a lawyer’s dual role of adviser to a client and recipient of a gift from a client establishes this disfavor. A paralegal should be aware of this conflict leading to a challenge to the gift or allegations of unethical conduct. Especially in the case of a substantial gift from an elderly or otherwise vulnerable client. The supervising attorney would recommend the client seek advice from an independent counsel and ask the paralegal to refrain from working on the gift document. A will or trust is potential for undue influence, fraud, and overreaching. Courts frequently void both inter vivos (during life) and testamentary (after death) cases, even without showing of undue influence. An attorney may be subject to discipline for accepting such gifts (ABA Model Rule 1...
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...lawyers are licensed by the government but paralegals are not. - Paralegals are not licensed by the government because they are not directly responsible to the public. The lawyer supervises their work and is directly responsible to the public. Therefore, lawyers must be licensed. 2. T or F A paralegal program must be approved by the American Bar Association in order to operate. -True 3. If a NC lawyer wants to practice law in Texas, what requirements must he/she meet? - If a lawyer wants to move to another state to practice law, he/she must take that state's BAR exam in order to be able to practice there. In order to be eligible to take the bar exam, the lawyer must have a bachelor's degree (4 years) followed by a Juris Doctor degree (3 years) 4. Explain the difference between certification and licensure. - Paralegals can get certified by state in a certification program two-day comprehensive examination. It is not required but looks good on your resume and also more reliable for lawyers to look at when hiring. -Paralegals have no state license requirements to enter profession, and no unified code of ethics. To protect the public, certain professions such as law, require state licensure as a method of regulating who can practice. 5. Name the national organization that certifies paralegals. (Do not abbreviate.) -The National Association of Legal Assistants 6. State the reason that those who would like to become paralegals are encouraged to pursue a bachelor's degree...
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...Graded Project Thinking Critically About Ethics Graded Project Thinking Critically About Ethics Introduction The National Federation of Paralegal System (NFPA) is a very well known organization who has comprised paralegal association of individual and throughout the Canada and United States. They have their own job responsibilities that reflecting the diversity if parallel profession. This is also the responsibility of NFPA paralegal association that every individual legal supervisor does not break the law and perform their duties under given considerations (Zoubek, 2012, p. 26). On the other hand, ABA Models Rules settled by America Bar Association (ABA) for setting the rules according to the standards lawyer’s professional responsibilities and legal ethics in United States of America. Discussion In this paper, I will review activities throughout the week and identify where Carl and Attorney Howe violate the ethical considerations according to ABA Models rules and NFPA ethical considerations. Monday On the first day when Jane says, she has a side business on the side, and she didn’t pay taxes because the government does not know about it, Carl failed and avoided the ABA MR Rule 2.1; NFPA Rule EC-1.3(a) which is stated that, lawyer must be an independent lawyer and advice candidate according to justice but on that particular time Carl does not provide any instruction to Jane smith about the violation of ABA and NFPA rules. Furthermore, according to ABA MR...
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...Profession Ethics in Human Resources Management Professional is a member of an occupational group who sees other members, including those employed elsewhere as colleagues. Professional also known as those who working in acknowledged professions, exercise specialist knowledge and skill. Professional ethics encompass the personal, organizational and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals. Looking towards a human resources employee’s responsibility, a HR employee are responsible for adding value to the organization he or she serve and contributing to the ethical success of those organizations. He or she also an advocate for the HR profession by engaging in activities that enhance its credibility and value. Individually, he or she is expected to exhibit individual leadership as a role model for maintaining the highest standards of ethical conduct where he or she should be ethical and act ethically in every professional interaction, seek expert guidance if ever in doubt about the ethical propriety of a situation and question pending individual and group actions when necessary to ensure that decisions are ethical and are implemented in an ethical manner. Professional codes of ethics prescribes how professionals are to pursue their common ideal so that each may do the best they can at a minimal cost to themselves and those they care about. The code is to protect each professional from certain pressures by making it reasonable likely that most other members of the...
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...The role of a paralegal is a person qualified by education, training, or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity who perform specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible (The Paralegal Professional Fourth Edition, pgs. 4, 22 & 28,). The primary function of a paralegal is to assist attorney in preparing for hearings, trials, meetings and real estate closings. Paralegals are also responsible for completing the preparatory work of a case which includes file creation and management, the completion of necessary documents and forms, maintaining financial records which would include billing and recordkeeping. Paralegals can assist in interviewing of clients and witnesses. The paralegal requires many skill sets in order to be successful in this type of profession. As the text states, the acronym “PEOPLE” provides the embodiment of the skills needed and includes the following abilities listed below: Problem-solving abilities (organization, judgement, logic, creativity, conflict resolution) Ethics (diplomacy, courtesy, honesty, professionalism) Open-mindedness (flexibility, open to new business ideas, positive outlook) Persuasiveness (excellent communication and listening skills) In addition, having the expertise in the relevant legal computer programs as well as proficiency in research skills are critical tools to becoming a successful paralegal. As technology moves ahead...
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...UPL Unauthorized practice of law is a crucial part of our legal system and how law is administered. Also known as, UPL, this topic deserves attention so boundaries in the legal profession can be clearly understood. My question that I raise with this topic, is UPL defined well enough or is it too strict and those that can’t afford legal help suffer for it? In the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct, it states, "A lawyer shall not practice law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction or assist a person who is not a member of the bar in the performance of activity that constitutes the unauthorized practice of law." What this definition indicates is that attorneys may not practice law where they are not licensed to do so and they may not assist another person in UPL. So for an attorney licensed in only one state, she/he may not practice law in another without appropriate licensure. As for another person committing UPL, this would include helping a legal assistant work outside the boundaries of their legal responsibilities as a non-lawyer professional. The goal of UPL is to protect the public from being subjected to fraudulent practice by persons not qualified to give legal counsel. In addition, when they employ legal assistants they must be cautious not to do anything less than adequately supervise their staff and ensure that UPL is not committed. Attorneys are the only ones who can give...
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...Ethics Reflection Paper Sheila Bourne University of Phoenix STR/581 Instructor: Charles Von Urff November 17, 2010 Executive Summary When the word “ethics” is mentioned in society and in business what comes to mind to me is that people should practice expressing good morals and values in making the best decisions in their personal and professional life. Basically, ethics is how we ought to act or behave because our conduct is affected by our morals. My paper will analyze how the role of ethics and social responsibility can go bad when ethics are no longer practiced in business, and how my ethical perspective has evolved through my MBA program and has given me strength to pursue an owner/ operator independent small business. Explain the role of ethics and social responsibility in developing a strategic plan, considering stakeholder needs. The role of ethics and social responsibility in an organization for a stakeholder needs can vary depending on the type of people that is leading and managing the organization. Organizations should have guidelines that they use for management to implement to employees so that everyone conducts themselves accordingly to the values, vision and the mission statement set forth by the stakeholders and their needs for that business. This will ensure employees understand the rules and make good ethical decisions for the benefit of the company. Ethical responsibility is the strategic managers’ notion of right and proper business...
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...relate to the organizational designs. Also, practically, we are currently studying the main topics such as culture, ethics, motivation, impact of organization hierarchy, leadership. We can clearly see the human emotions and the internal hierarchy in the series. These emotions and practical demonstrations of work culture and ethics will help us learn better about the building blocks of a successfully running organization. We can analyze the facts and we already have some suggestions for the operation of the firm. Hence, we think this would be a very good topic for discussion on organizational design and implementation (orientation). LEARNING FROM THE PROJECT: ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE Key Persons: * Managing Partner : Jessica Pearson , Harvey Specter * Senior Partner : Louis Litt * Partner : Paul Porter, Watson * Associates : Mike Ross and other associates * Paralegals: Rachel Zane etc. * Assistants: Donna Paulsen, Norma etc. Observations: * There are less layers in the organization. * Hence, more transparency and more interaction. * There need to be more departments for very specific tasks or mundane tasks which can prevent mismanagement. Need to work on this analysis and suggest some improvements. CULTURE Analysis Points: * At a higher level, everybody has to follow a certain culture which comes by the profession. * They have to be devoted to their work and have to put the work before family and personal lives. * The...
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