Ethics And Professional Responsibility For Paralegals 6th Edition Therese A. Cannon - Solutions

When were the first rules limiting the practice of law passed in the United States? What did the rules limit? What were the purposes of these rules?
What was the role of bar associations in limiting the practice of law to licensed attorneys? Describe the ABA’s Statements of Principle entered into with other professional associations. What happened to these agreements?
What kinds of legal functions do most nonlawyer legal service providers perform? Whom do they serve? What areas of law do they work in? How do UPL rules circumscribe their work? What titles do nonlawyer legal service providers use?
Give the most complete and accurate definition of the practice of law that you can.
What are the potential consequences of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law? Are prosecutions for unauthorized practice of law increasing or decreasing? Why?
What are an attorney’s responsibilities to prevent the unauthorized practice of law? What might happen to an attorney whose paralegal engages in the practice of law?
Make a list of the specific functions that constitute the practice of law and may not be performed by paralegals. What rationale lies behind each prohibition?
What are the exceptions to the general rule against a nonlawyer appearing in court on behalf of a client? Describe each exception and the rationale.
Give your best definition of what constitutes giving legal advice.Why are nonlawyers prohibited from giving legal advice? What is the difference between giving legal advice and giving legal information?
What are the exceptions to the general prohibition against giving legal advice?
Does selling a self-help divorce kit constitute giving legal advice?What about developing and selling electronic programs that help someone to prepare a will or complete the forms required to file for divorce?
Does answering someone’s questions about legal matters constitute giving legal advice? Why, or why not? If a lawyer does this, is an attorney-client relationship formed?
What kinds of work can legal typing services perform without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law?
Why are paralegals prohibited from setting legal fees? From accepting a case? Can a paralegal quote a fee to a prospective client over the phone? Sign a retainer agreement with a client?
Should a paralegal supervise a will execution without an attorney present? Why, or why not?
Should a paralegal supervise a real estate closing without the supervising attorney present? Why, or why not?
Should a paralegal negotiate a settlement in a case? What steps should the paralegal take to be sure that he or she does not practice law unethically when negotiating?
Can parents represent their children in court cases? Are there any statutes that allow parents to represent their children in administrative agencies?
Can a nonlawyer set up a service to help people to renegotiate their bank loans and avoid foreclosure? Can a lawyer work for such a company?
Do you agree that only licensed attorneys should be able to give legal advice and represent clients in court? Why, or why not? What are the consequences of limiting these functions to lawyers only?
Do you think that a sole practitioner lawyer who has ten paralegals working in her or his office can adequately supervise that many paralegals adequately? Is the answer the same for every area of law practice? What office procedures and policies might ensure adequate supervision under these
Do you think that a lawyer who hires a paralegal without any formal paralegal training is violating his or her duty to supervise? Why, or why not? Might this be appropriate or inappropriate depending on the circumstances? What factors would you consider in deciding?Glance back at the Musselman case
How can a lawyer engage in the unauthorized practice of law? How has multijurisdictional practice affected UPL?
Why should law students, and not paralegals, be permitted to represent clients in court?
Based on Faretta v. California, do you think a constitutional argument could bemade that citizens should be able to choose their representative in court, even if that person is a nonlawyer? Try to formulate that proposition and then develop the arguments against it.
Because it is essential for lawyers to have a direct relationship with their clients, and paralegals are prohibited from giving legal advice, why are paralegals allowed to have any client contact?
Which of the following acts by a paralegal would be permissible and which prohibited under the definitions of legal advice given in this chapter?a. interviewing a client to obtain the facts relating to an automobile accidentb. telling the client that the firm probably would be able to get a$10,000
Could you use Johnson v. Avery to make an argument that poor people who do not have access to legal services have a right to legal advice from whomever they choose unless the state provides an alternative?Is this argument convincing? Why, or why not?
The cases that hold self-help kits not to be prohibited by unauthorized practice of law statutes also hold that helping customers to use those kits does violate unauthorized practice of law statutes. Do you think this an appropriate place to draw this line? Do any of the cases in this chapter help
What are the policy reasons for permitting nonlawyers to give legal advice in small claims or unlawful detainer cases, or to serve as family court facilitators for pro per litigants? Why do these reasons not apply to other kinds of legal matters? How do you reconcile this exception with the policy
In a personal injury law firm that takes every case that comes to it and that charges the same contingency fee, why should it be necessary for the lawyer to set the fee and establish the relationship with the client?Should this be an ethical rule, or is it really a matter of good practice?Suppose
What kinds of prohibited tasks might be made permissible for paralegals in the future?
Legal Documentation Company, also known as Divorce Documentation Service, prepares documents for persons representing themselves in all kinds of legal transactions. The company’s owner interviews a person who wants to file for divorce; asks this customer questions about the length of the
An insurance company distributes to claimants a flyer entitled ‘‘Do I Need an Attorney?’’ that apparently attempts to advise claimants about the efficacy and costs of hiring a lawyer. Is this UPL? Is it speech that should be protected under the First Amendment? For an interesting analysis,
Hanna is a family lawparalegal with ten years of experience. She works very independently and really knows the process well. Her friend, Isabel, wants to file for divorce. Isabel and her husband, Jim, did not have any children; both work and have good benefits and own a couple of pieces of
Paralegal Joan Johnson works for the corporate department of a large law firm. The partner in charge, Susan Smith, always introduces Joan to clients and encourages them to call her directly for updates and information. Joan values this client contact and the trust that Susan has placed in her. Joan
Lon Lane is a business litigation paralegal for a firm that handles construction litigation. A prospective client, Cathy Connor, who is also a friend of Lon’s, comes in to see the lawyer, Mat Moore, who is unexpectedly called away. Mat asks Lon to interview Cathy.Cathy tells a detailed story
Fran Francis has just gone to work for Georgia Graham, who is genius litigator and fiery advocate but is notoriously disorganized and hard to get along with. Fran is the third in a series of paralegals who have worked for Georgia in a year. Georgia is away on vacation for two weeks, giving Fran
Interview five litigation paralegals in your area and ask them what kinds of tasks they perform. Find out if they attend trials and depositions with the attorneys for whom they work. Ask them if they have client contact and if they are ever asked questions that elicit ‘‘legal advice.’’
Contact the local legal aid organization in your area and find out how many paralegals and other nonlawyers they employ and use as volunteers and what these persons do. Do any of the functions they perform cross the line into unauthorized practice under the definition used in this book? If so, why
What are the rules governing will executions in your state? Does the state or local bar association have an advisory opinion about paralegals supervising will executions without the presence of an attorney?Interview three probate/estate-planning paralegals and find out what the practice is in their
Do parties to residential real estate transactions in your state usually utilize the services of lawyers? If not, who does? If so, are paralegals who work for real estate lawyers permitted to handle closings without an attorney present? Is it common practice? Does the state or local bar have an
Has your state bar or supreme court studied the problem of increasing access to legal services? What are the nature and extent of the problem in your state? What are some of the solutions that have been proposed in your state?
Research cases and disciplinary actions in your jurisdiction concerning loanmodification services and foreclosure consultants. Have any nonlawyers been prosecuted forUPL in doing thiswork?Have any lawyers been disciplined? Has an ethics opinion been issued? Given the legitimate need of many
Research the ABA and your state bar’s Web site for information on‘‘unbundling of legal services.’’ What is this concept and how does it work? Do you see a role for paralegals in unbundling?
Research the questions of UPL and technology-based programs designed for the self-represented in law reviews and report on some these articles and their views. See, for example, Lanctot, C.‘‘Scriveners in Cyberspace: Online Document Preparation and the Unauthorized Practice of Law’’ 30
What do you think of disbarred lawyers working as paralegals? Is this practice permitted in your state? Is it more likely that a disbarred lawyer would engage in unauthorized practice of law than a paralegal?Why do you think this? Research cases in your state. For a start, see In re Scott, 739
Read Ohio State Bar Ass’n v. Burdzinski, Brinkman, Czarzasty & Lanwehr, Inc., 112 Ohio St. 3d 107, 858 N.E.2d 372 (2006), which addresses the question of nonlawyer consultants providing advice and counsel in labor election campaigns. What did the court decide?How does this fit with the
If you are interested in the use of paralegals in criminal cases, read and brief Mississippi Bar v. Thompson, 5 So. 3d 330 (Miss. 2008), a disciplinary case about a lawyer who hired a former inmate who then engaged in UPL.

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