(b) to represent clients before a court or tribunal, other than a family law arbitration, as permitted by the court or tribunal; or (c) to represent clients at a family law mediation. The commentary to BC Code rule 6.1-3.3 notes that a lawyer can supervise a limited number of designated paralegals under Law Society Rule 2-13, and provides: [2] Where a designated paralegal performs the services in rule 6-1-3.3, the supervising lawyer must be available by telephone or other electronic means, and any agreement arising from a family law mediation must be Subject to nal review by the supervising lawyer. Within this framework, here are some examples of duties a paralegal may carry out: (a) interviewing clients and witnesses (the lawyer must advise and take instructions from clients on substantive issues); (b) collecting information 'om other scurces (e.g. the Land Title Ofce); (c) conducting correspondence relating to routine administration; (d) preparing draft pleadings and other court forms; (e) researching the law and preparing legal memoranda; (f) organizing documents; (g) drafting statements of account; and (h) if the paralegal is a designated paralegal with the necessary skill and experience, the additional duties set out in rule 6.1-3.3. As of December 2018, legislation is not yet in force that would create a \"licensed\" paralegal who could engage in limited legal practice under the Legal Proassions Act and be regulated as a member of the Law Society of BC. X Roles and Duties --Practice M... f 1.03] Lawyer's Responsibilities and Support System Managing a law practice includes effectively delegating and dividing duties among personnel. The following outline of the lawyer's responsibilities and suitable support systems sets out one way to divide law ofce responsibilities where the law ofce includes a lawyer, an articled student, a paralegal and a legal administrative assistant. 2. The Paralegal's Responsibilities Paralegals have legal training and knowledge of the substantive and procedural aspects of law. A paralegal can perform a range of tasks, but the lawyer has full professional responsibility for the paralegal's work. The BC Code denes a paralegal as \"a non-lawyer who is a trained professional working under the supervision of a lawyer" (BC Code, rule 6.1-2). A lawyer may also determine whether a paralegal is suitable to be a \"designated paralegal\": a paralegal who has the necessary skill and experience to give legal advice and represent clients before a court or tribunal as permitted, or at family law mediations (BC Code, rules 6.1-2 and 6.1-3). A lawyer may supervise no more than two designated paralegals at a time (Law Society Rule 2-13). Appendix E to the BC Code provides further guidance with respect to the supervision of paralegals. A lawyer has a duty to ensure that paralegals employed by that lawyer are competent, under the BC Code, rule 6.1-3.2: A lawyer may employ as a paralegal a person who (a) possesses adequate knowledge of substantive and procedural law relevant to the work delegated by the supervising lawyer; (b) possesses the practical and analytic skills necessary to carry out the work delegated by the supervising lawyer; and (c) carries out his or her work in a competent and ethical manner. The commentary to rule 6.1-3.2 provides: [1] A lawyer must not delegate work to a paralegal, nor may a lawyer hold a person out as a paralegal, unless the lawyer is satised that the person has sufcient knowledge, skill, training and experience and is of sufficiently good character to perform the tasks delegated by the lawyer in a competent and ethical manner. [2] 1n arriving at this determination, lawyers should be guided by Appendix E. [3] Lawyers are professionally and legally responsible for all work delegated to paralegals. Lawyers must ensure that the paralegal is adequately trained and supervised to carry out each function the paralegal performs, with due regard to the complexity and importance of the matter. The additional services that designated paralegals may provide are set out in the BC Code, rule 6.1-3.3: Despite rule 6.1-3, where a designated paralegal has the necessary skill and experience, a lawyer may permit the designated paralegal (a) to give legal advice; H CO ege PARALEGAL / LAA DIPLOMA GENERAL LEGAL OFFICE PROCEDURE ASSIGNMENT: ROLES AND DUTIES OF LEGAL SUPPORT STAFF Your rm has recently hired Wanda Wonderwhy, and as the senior Legal Administrative Assistant / Paralegal, it is your job to train her. Wanda has 3 years' experience working in a rm, but she has been on an extended maternity leave for 9 years. Draft a memo to Wanda outlining the duties of a legal administrative assistant / paralegal. Use the handouts and any other notes you possess to give Wanda information about the changes in duties. Chat'me NapoLeow September 1, 2022 3. The Legal Administrative Assistant's Responsibilities The legal administrative assistant works under the supervision of the lawyer or paralegal. The legal administrative assistant's tasks include routine office procedures and clerical tasks: (a) Organizing files, including (i) opening files, (ii) organizing components of files, and (iii) securing file contents with fasteners and ensuring that files remain organized (b) Making appointments for the lawyer and referring potentially urgent matters to the lawyer for assessment; (c) Preparing correspondence that does not involve legal expertise; (d) Sending copies of relevant file material to clients; (e) Taking telephone calls when the lawyer is unavailable, ascertaining the nature of the problem and providing non-legal help to the client where possible; (f) Maintaining bring-forward and diary systems (g) Screening incoming mail, including (i) highlighting areas of potential urgency, (ii) dealing with items of a routine nature, and (iii) noting any dates for bring-forward and diary systems; (h) Arranging examinations for discovery, by (i) preparing and sending out appropriate demands, (ii) taking out appointments, and (iii) taking care of conduct money and travel expenses; (i) Arranging trials, by (i) setting trial dates, (ii) preparing trial records, and (iii) arranging for attendance of witnesses; (i) Preparing standard form legal documents for the lawyer's review; and (k) Organizing the lawyer's trial briefs, books of documents, and books of authorities