Questions and Answers of Ethics and Professional Responsibility

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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,
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
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
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

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