Remember: paralegals work under the supervision of lawyers. As valuable as paralegals can be to your business, it`s important to understand the limits of the work they can do. You also need to understand your role and responsibilities as a supervising lawyer. You never want to encounter potential ethical landmines when it comes to deploying non-legal staff to your law firm. The lawyer-client relationship is in a way a precursor to many other rules of ethical conduct in the U.S. legal system. With admission to the bar, anything that even resembles an attorney-client relationship is strictly prohibited. Below is an overview of some of the rules and their applicability to the paralegal. Before discussing individual rules, one must first understand the purpose and scope of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. The preamble to the rules states that they are “rules of reason” and that they “define good conduct for the purposes of professional discipline.” (Emphasis added) The preamble also states that the rules are not intended for the following purposes: In 2006, the Texas State Bar Board approved the amendment of the definition of “paralegal” to include the following “standards” designed to help the public receive high-quality legal services, assist lawyers in using paralegals, and assist judges in determining: if paralegal work is a reimbursable expense in the awarding of legal fees: Paralegals are prohibited from providing legal advice to clients. Providing legal advice can be defined as giving instructions to a client on how to proceed in a matter with legal consequences and/or explaining their legal rights and obligations to a client. As part of their employment, paralegals have frequent contact with clients, a situation that sometimes opens the door to potential conflicts. It is not uncommon for a client to develop a strong relationship with the paralegal who supports a lawyer in their case, and for the client to sometimes ask questions of the paralegal that would force the paralegal to provide legal advice to answer them.
To make matters worse, the paralegal often knows the answer! To avoid an authorized legal practice, a paralegal should always first elaborate on these issues with his or her supervising lawyer before passing on information to the client. Did you know that lawyers devote a significant portion of their working days to legal administrative support tasks that do not generate income? In particular, according to the Legal Trends Report 2020, lawyers spend on average only 31% of their working days on billable work. By delegating non-billable tasks to a paralegal, your business can be more productive. It also gives you more time to focus on billable work. Typical paralegal duties are: Now that we`ve sorted out the question of “what paralegals can do” under the supervision of a lawyer, let`s take a look at what a paralegal isn`t allowed to do. Aba model guidelines for the use of paralegal services can be a useful resource. We will describe the main points below: In the TDRPC, the first and most important rule is that a lawyer cannot represent the opposing parties in the same dispute. Article 1.06 (a). In other situations, and except to the extent permitted by other paragraphs, a lawyer cannot represent a person if that person is represented: Since paralegals are not lawyers, they are generally not allowed to represent clients in court or make statements. To make matters worse, most law societies interpret legal advice as what the client perceives to be legal advice.
This can be as simple as a disposable observation of the difficulty or ease of a case. It`s best to stay on track and keep any comments you might have, even if it`s just an attempt to be friendly or avoid an embarrassing silence. It`s better to feel a little uncomfortable and with narrow lips than to be in hot water because you play it too loosely. Just as the American Bar Association has given a comprehensive overview of what paralegals can do, the organization has also provided clear guidelines on what paralegals cannot do. If a paralegal exceeds the limit of tasks or abilities for which he is not qualified, the ABA has a term for that: the unauthorized exercise of the right. Since licensed lawyers are responsible for the work of a paralegal, they can be sanctioned by their state bar association for paralegal acts, so it is to their advantage to closely monitor the type of work a paralegal performs and how they perform it. Paralegals are subject to the same obligations as lawyers when it comes to discussing a case with or in the presence of a judge. Make sure that if a member of your staff is at the courthouse or talking to a judge, the paralegal follows the guidelines against unilateral communications set out in Rule 3.05: The best rule of thumb for a paralegal is to NEVER, NEVER, EVER disclose the details of a client`s case. It is up to the lawyer to determine what is privileged and what is confidential. Interacting with clients is one of the main tasks of a paralegal.
Paralegals can help clients feel heard and informed about their case without taking the lawyer`s time. This can go a long way in providing a positive, customer-centric experience. If you`re a lawyer who does legal research manually, you may be wasting valuable time. .