The practice of law is limited to those who have meet their state's requirements of education, moral character, and understanding of the law. They then become licensed to practice law, one who does not hold this license and practices law is committing UPL. UPL is the unauthorized practice of law anyone who practices law without a license may be held to their states disciplinary procedures. Injunction, criminal prosecution, citations for contempt of court and writs of quo warranto are some of the actions states take for those who commit UPL. Paralegals or legal assistants are “a distinguishable group of persons who assist attorneys in the delivery of legal services”. They are not licensed to practice law. In the scenarios , Polly Paralegal’s response is the only thing that can determine if she has committed UPL. If Polly Paralegal responds to Mr. Smiths question by stating “Yes, Mr. Smith in the state of North Carolina adultery has grounds for a divorce.”, then yes Polly is committing UPL. Polly would be using her knowledge in the legal field to answer Mr. Smith’s question. If on the other hand, Polly tells Mr. Smith that she is not able to give him an answer to his question, he should seek an attorney’s advice, then no, she is not committing UPL. Polly would not be giving any legal advice to Mr. Smith, therefore, there is no practice of law taking place.
The same situation will apply to Polly with Mrs. Smith’s question. Depending on how Polly Paralegal answers the question will determine if she commits UPL or not. Due to the fact that Polly knows both Mr. and Mrs. Smith and is considered a friend to them, the likelihood of her committing UPL is much higher. Not knowing how Polly Paralegal responds to Mr. and Mrs. Smiths questions there is no way to determine if she has or will commit UPL. When Polly Paralegal decided to become a paralegal she agreed to abide by a set of rules and guidelines that her state set for paralegals. Doing so gives her knowledge of how she should respond to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Polly is aware of her options as a paralegal and a friend.
In conclusion, there is no way to determine if Polly did or did not in fact commit UPL. The scenario giving gives too little detail of the conversations between Polly and Mr. Smith as well as Polly and Mrs. Smith. If Polly decides to give the answer Mr. and Mrs. Smith are looking for she knows she will be violating ethics and could lose her job. Polly has not yet given the Smiths an answer therefore she has not yet committed UPL. With further knowledge of Pollys response then one can determine if she chose to or not to commit UPL.
References
National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (2006). Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://chrome-extension://ecnphlgnajanjnkcmbpancdjoidceilk/www.paralegals.org/associations/2270/files/Paralegal_Responsibilities.pdf
USLegal. (2011). Paralegal Law & Legal Definition. Retrieved from http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/paralegal/
Unit 8 – Assignment Category | Description | Weighting | Possible Points | Points Earned | Content | * Purpose of the paper is clear in illustrating the differences between answering general questions of fact and law to the application of the facts to the law illustrating the differences between the questions posed by Mr. and Mrs. Smith * The paper should have at least two full pages of content that is supported by authority and not based upon the Model Rules of Professional Conduct * The application of the authority should illustrate the differences between the questions and illustrate why answering the questions will or will not cause a violation of the unauthorized practice of law * Content is comprehensive, accurate, and/or persuasive * An excellent paper should at least note the penalties for a violation of the unauthorized practice of law, and while not required, would note the issues of conflict of interest. | 60% | 90 | 60 | Sentence Mastery | * Sentences are consistently grammatical. Major sentence-level errors, including fragments, run-ons, and comma splices, are avoided. * Sentences are graceful, i.e., they can be read aloud without awkwardness, awkward pauses, or running out of breath. * Language is rich, precise, and vivid. | 10% | 15 | 12 | Grammar and Mechanics | * Spelling is proficient. Spellcheck has been used to avoid egregious errors. * Grammar and mechanics are sound, including mastery of the following key elements: subject-verb agreement; verb form; appropriate punctuation and capitalization; apostrophe use; appropriate word use. * There are no extra words, and there are not missing words. | 10% | 15 | 12 | Organization and Format | * Organization and structure are clear and easy to follow. Writing shows clear purpose and orderly transitions from beginning to end. Sentences consistently establish this organization and flow rather than interrupt it. * Format meets APA guidelines and Bluebook rules as appropriate, including use of title pages. There is no playful experimentation with fancy fonts. * It is written for the appropriate audience. | 10% | 15 | 12 | Citation Style | * Writing shows both internal citations in the body of the text as well as a proper list of references at the end of the paper, following APA or Bluebook format. * Citations appear consistently where needed, whether following quoted or paraphrased material in the text. * Note: In papers requiring secondary sources, failure to provide any citation does not result in a deduction of 10% from the paper, but will result in a failed paper and a plagiarism investigation. | 10% | 15 | 15 | | Total: 100% | 150 Possible Points | 111 Points Earned | Additional Instructor Comments:THE UNIT 8 ASSIGNMENT WAS THE FOLLOWING:Unauthorized Practice of LawFacts: Mr. Stan Smith calls his friend, Polly Paralegal, and leaves a message asking, “Do the grounds for divorce in North Carolina include adultery?” Later that day, Mrs. Stan Smith calls Polly Paralegal and leaves a message asking, “Do I have grounds for divorce in North Carolina? 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 from 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 from at least one authoritative reference source.The viewpoint and purpose of this 2-page paper should be clearly established and sustained. Assignment should follow the conventions of Standard American English (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.). Your writing should be well ordered, logical and unified, as well as original and insightful. Your work should display superior content, organization, style, and mechanics. Use the appropriate citation style for all citations. More details can be found in the GEL 1.1 Universal Writing Rubric.Save your assignment in a Word document and submit it to the Dropbox. Your instructor will grade and provide feedback on your draft.************* When a person is not licensed as an attorney, he or she may improperly commit UPL, the unlicensed practice of law. In other words, Paralegals and laypeople commit UPL. The elements of UPL typically involve the following: * providing an opinion (such as applying law to the facts), * doing something in area traditionally practiced by attorneys, * doing something commonly understood to involve the practice of law, * signing pleadings, * drafting pleadings for a non-lawyer, * making an appearance in court.In our assignment scenario, UPL in the form of providing an opinion seems to be the concern. In other words; Is there an application of a rule of law to a particular person’s facts and the giving of a response, or legal advice? “Giving Legal Advice” seems to apply to the second part of the scenario. Giving legal advice, remember, is the application of a rule of law to a particular person’s facts and giving a response. We must use the test: has the paralegal taken a particular person’s facts, applied knowledge of the law, and provided some sort of response? In the second circumstance, yes, this could occur; the fact that Mrs. Smith reported Mr. Smith’s adultery resulted in a question in which she sought advice about whether or not his discovered adultery can be grounds for her to divorce him in her State. The paralegal cannot answer that question. This differs from the first part of the scenario in which Mr. Smith merely asked if adultery is grounds for divorce. No facts were provided by Mr. Smith. No opinion was requested. UPL doesn’t occur when the person is not seeking an educated opinion, and none is given. The paralegal may simply impart common information by providing a yes or no answer in the first part. In the second part, the question cannot be answered. Work on your writing methods. Utilize the I.R.A.C. method in each scenario; Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion. This would also have helped you distinguish between the 2 scenarios. Submit your papers for review at the Kaplan Writing Center for help.There is also a potential conflict of interest, but it was not required to be analyzed in this assignment.Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns related to this assignment or its grading. DWeigel@Kaplan.edu |
