Chapter Six
Ethics
I. Sample Test Questions
True/False
Please feel free to qualify your answer in any way that you find necessary after you
have selected either true or false.
T F
1. A legal assistant may draft correspondence and pleadings and may
summarize depositions and testimony for review by the attorney.
T F
2. Paralegals may not represent clients in court.
T F
3. It is ethical for a legal assistant to sign as a witness on the attorney’s
client’s will.
T F
4. Legal assistants must be licensed.
T F
5. Legal assistants can be certified.
T F
6. It is usually considered ethical for a legal assistant to tell a potential client
what the firm’s fee is for a particular kind of case.
T F
7. It is generally considered ethical for a legal assistant to sign as a witness
on real estate documents.
T F
8. It is ethical for a legal assistant to prepare deposition questions.
T F
9. It is ethical for a legal assistant to ask questions at deposition.
T F 10. It is ethical for a legal assistant to prepare interrogatory questions.
T F 11. It is generally considered ethical for a legal assistant to notarize
documents.
T F 12. A legal assistant may split a contingency fee with an attorney.
T F 13. A legal assistant may give legal advice at a real estate closing.
T F 14. A legal assistant may appear before the court on behalf of the firm’s
clients.
T F 15. It is ethical for the legal assistant to set attorney’s fees .
Short Answer
1. Identify three of the sets of rules, canons, or laws that bear on the ethical
conduct of
paralegals.
2. Circle the activities that would normally be considered unethical. If you need to
qualify your answer, please feel free to do so next to any of the items.
using business cards
attending a deposition
attending a real estate closing
accepting a case for the employing law firm
rendering legal advice
taping telephone conversations without the other party’s consent
drafting a contract
talking to the opposing party outside the presence of opposing counsel without
the counsel's
permission
inclusion of the paralegal’s name on the letterhead without indicating paralegal
status
II. Answers to the Sample Test Questions
True/False
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
T
T
T
F
T
F
T
T
F
T
T
F
F
F
F
Short Answer
1. Answers will vary, but may include:
NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility
NFPA Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility
NALA Model Standards and Guidelines for the Utilization of Legal
Assistants
Annotated
state statutes that prohibit the unauthorized practice of law
rules governing attorneys and the manner in which they deal with
paralegals and
other employees
2. Activities that would normally be considered unethical include:
accepting a case for the employing law firm
rendering legal advice
taping telephone conversations without the other party’s consent
talking to the opposing party outside the presence of opposing counsel
without
the counsel’s permission
inclusion of the paralegal’s name on the letterhead without indicating
paralegal
status
III. Answers to the Review Questions in the Text
1. a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
“E”
“U,” although there are exceptions to this rule.
“U.” The fact that the attorney authorized it does not make it ethical.
“E”
“E”
2. There was nothing unethical about obtaining statistical information from the
attorney’s client. When she met the person to be interviewed, however, it was
extremely important for her to identify herself as a paralegal so that the client could
not be misled into assuming that she was an attorney. It was unethical for her to
suggest that the case looked promising, since that conclusion involved independent
legal judgment and the giving of legal advice. Furthermore, it was improper to
indicate that the firm would probably take the case, since that decision would also
involve legal judgment and might involve a potential conflict of interest of which she
was unaware. There was nothing wrong in mailing back the documents along with a
cover letter as long as she identified herself in the letter as a paralegal and did not
render any legal advice.
3. There was nothing unethical about either preparing the documents for the real estate
closing or attending the closing. However, the documents had to be approved by the
attorney before they went directly to the client. Paul was correct in refraining from
rendering legal advice, for to do otherwise would have constituted an ethical
violation. There was nothing unethical about signing as a witness on the documents.
It was improper, however, for him to accept a percentage of the attorney’s fee.
Divulging the name of a law office client to the nurses in the cafeteria was at the very
least an exercise of poor judgment. There was nothing improper about sending out
copies of the documents with a cover letter identifying him as a paralegal. No legal
advise could be rendered by Paul in that letter, however.
4. a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
“E”
“U”
“E”
“U”
“E”
“U”
5. The primary reason that the limitations of permissible conduct are so difficult to
ascertain is that it is extremely difficult to define what constitutes the unauthorized
practice of law. There are, for example, many professionals, such as real estate
agents and insurance agents, who are not facing unauthorized practice of law charges
even though they are performing tasks that have traditionally been performed by
attorneys.
Since such professionals often have expertise that exceeds that of the average layman
(and, on occasion, that of the attorney), it may be difficult to justify restrictions on
their conduct. One justification that is sometimes used for prohibiting highly skilled
non-attorneys from engaging in such matters is that they are not subject to the
disciplinary procedures of bar associations. Another somewhat more cynical
justification for the prohibition may be that attorneys wish to protect their own
business from outside encroachment.
6. The drafting of the will was not unethical or improper per se, but the document
should not have been sent out unless and until it was approved by the attorney. It
was permissible for Susan to mail out the cover letter that referred to the enclosed
document provided that the letter clearly indicated Susan's paralegal status and did
not include any legal advice from Susan. She did nothing improper either in drafting
the questions or attending the deposition. However, if she proceeded to ask the
questions at the deposition, the questioning would have been improper since the
determination of which questions to use at a deposition may depend upon the
responses of the person being questioned. This would in turn require the use of
independent legal judgment by Susan when she was not acting under the supervision
of an attorney.
7. Obviously, it was permissible for Ben to handle an incoming call for the firm,
although Ben was under an ethical obligation to identify himself as a paralegal. The
facts do not indicate whether he did so or not. Ben was correct in checking with the
attorney before quoting a fee to the potential client. When Ben received the phone
call three months later, he was obligated to reiterate that he was a paralegal even if he
had already told Handler that information during the first telephone conversation. It
was unethical for Ben to contact Nickerson, because a paralegal in an attorney’s
office may only contact the attorney for the opposing party rather than the party
himself or herself (assuming the opposing party has an attorney). Paralegals may not
do things that lawyers themselves may not do, and one of those is direct
communication with an individual already represented by counsel. The fact that
Handler received an amount that was close to the total that she originally demanded
is not relevant to a determination of whether Ben's actions were or were not ethical.