On January 25, 2013, the State Bar Board reviewed the Texas Paralegal Creed on its approval program and approved it. A copy of the Texas Paralegal Creed is attached as Appendix A. The state bar now contains a copy of Texas Paralegal`s Creed in the CLE documents with Texas Lawyer`s Creed. Provide a copy to your paralegals and other lawyers in your firm, as well as your clients, to explain your ongoing commitment to professionalism. As outlined in the 2020 Legal Trends Report, lawyers and lawyers need to address the affordability of legal services. By becoming more efficient as a law firm, you may be able to reduce the cost of your services and serve a wider network of clients, especially those who previously couldn`t afford your services. Admittedly, you won`t hear much about ethical issues in an average law firm – these values are so ingrained that there is rarely a reason to discuss them. Most paralegals would find it hard to imagine that they would ever face a difficult ethical dilemma. Even if almost no one who works outside the field believes in it, any paralegal will tell you that ethics is really the cornerstone of the law.
Paralegals cannot establish the relationship between lawyer and client, i.e. take charge of a case. Paralegals can interview potential clients, gather information about a potential case and even prepare a mandate contract for the client`s signature, but they cannot decide whether or not to take over a particular case – this is the lawyer`s responsibility. This is not to say that lawyers do not sometimes seek the advice of their paralegal on the feasibility of a case; They do, but the decision whether or not to represent a person is entirely up to them. Similarly, it is not for a paralegal to establish a lawyer`s relationship with a client, so he or she cannot accept or dismiss a case. 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 clarifies that the rules are not intended for the following purposes: A lawyer who employs non-legal staff is required to provide appropriate instruction and supervision regarding the ethical aspects of his or her employment, in particular with respect to the obligation not to disclose information about a client`s representation.
Tex. Disciplinary Department R. Prof. Conduct, 5.03 (a) and Commentary 1. The Texas Disciplinary Rule of Professional Conduct 1.04 sets out the attorney`s obligations with respect to fees. According to paragraph 5.03(a) of the CDRT, “a lawyer with direct supervisory authority over the non-lawyer must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the person`s conduct is consistent with the lawyer`s professional obligations.” Therefore, TDRPC 1.04 may apply to the conduct of paralegals with respect to billing practices. A paralegal is not responsible (or authorized) for determining the fees to be charged by a lawyer. This canon recognizes that the provision of legal services requires the professional judgment of the lawyer and that the person receiving the services will generally not be able to assess whether adequate services are being provided and therefore needs the protection that the regulation of the legal profession provides. Tex. Disciplinary Department R. Prof.
Conduct at 5:05 a.m., Commentary 3. The rules define “competent professional judgment” as the product of in-depth knowledge of the law and legal processes, a disciplined and analytical approach to legal issues, and a firm ethical commitment. In other words, it is the educated ability to relate the general body and philosophy of law to a client`s specific legal problem. This is one of the most important skills in the practice of law: building an effective work team to serve clients in the best possible way and make a profit. Paralegals can be a key part of this team, especially in promoting profitability. The information in this section is intended to help you effectively use paralegals in your practice. The paralegal`s duties generally also extend to the preparation of the mediation process or protocol (whether on paper or electronically). While the lawyer must provide organizational feedback, the paralegal is usually the person who knows where everything is.
By transferring the tasks of preparing the notebook to the paralegal, the lawyer can again save the client money and focus his time on other issues. No legal advice or advice from a non-attorney paralegal is permitted, which is whether the completion of such forms is permitted by New Jersey law. Examples of other agencies that allow paralegals to do things without a lawyer include the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Patent Office. 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. Suppose a case handled by a paralegal at the administrative level is challenged in an ordinary court.
In this case, the paralegal can no longer act as a representative, and such a person should seek a lawyer. Paralegals must have sufficient skills and experience to negotiate reasonable fees with lawyers. By the way, in this case, a paralegal can negotiate fees for the work done for a lawyer. It is also a generally accepted principle that paralegals are not allowed to make statements or even ask questions during a statement, even if a lawyer has approved the questions or when supervised by a lawyer. However, paralegals have the right to participate in testimony with their supervising lawyers and to support them in court. Since the majority of paralegals are active in the legal field, they are involved in all phases of the process, including legal research, preparation of pleadings and applications as part of the inquiry process, process preparation, resolution and post-judgment issues. “Material legal work” does not include clerical or administrative work. Therefore, a court may refuse to recover the paralegal`s time for such non-material work. Gill Sav. Ass`n v.
Int`l Supply Co., Inc., 759 S.W.2d 697, 705 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1988, briefly denied). Lawyers are responsible for the work of their paralegals: As described in ABA Model Rule 5.3 with respect to assistance to non-lawyers, lawyers must make reasonable efforts to ensure that their non-legal staff (such as paralegals) behave in a manner consistent with the code of professional conduct that lawyers follow. Lawyers are also required to take immediate appropriate corrective action if a non-lawyer assistant breaks the rules – so it`s important to take your oversight role seriously. Nevertheless, a paralegal who independently represents a client before administrative authorities or an administrative tribunal without a lawyer is not allowed to provide legal advice to the client. How many times do I have to repeat this to make it clear? The line is blurred. In this case, the paralegal did not simply fill out forms on behalf of the individual applicant. Paralegals must comply with the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (TDPRC), otherwise their supervisory attorneys could be subject to complaints and/or disciplinary action. Paralegals who are members of the Paralegal Division of the Texas State Bar must adhere to the ethical canons (attached as Appendix B) to maintain their membership and avoid disciplinary proceedings.
In this section, you will find a summary of some of the rules that apply to paralegals: The Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility of the Division of Legal Assistants of the Law Society of Texas (the “Code”) was adopted on March 27, 1982.1 The Code serves as a general guide to the high standards of conduct and integrity of paralegals, that are fundamental to the profession. There are some do`s and don`ts when it comes to being a paralegal. There are certain things for which the paralegal is responsible and certain things for which the lawyer is responsible. For legal reasons, a paralegal is limited in the tasks she can perform while working in a law firm. While there are restrictions on what a paralegal is allowed to work on, the truth is that many paralegals do much of the lawyer`s job. Lawyers trust that paralegals understand the law and understand the types of documents that are being prepared. Some federal and state agencies allow paralegals to represent clients without a lawyer. This exception has likely made legal services more affordable.