Paralegal & Ethics Role
Paralegals work with attorneys on a variety of tasks in private law firms, government agencies and corporate law departments. Because paralegals are privy to a multitude of private and sometimes sensitive confidential information and because of the potential power they have to affect the lives and livelihoods of numerous individuals, they must maintain ethical behavior at all times. The National Federation of Paralegal Associations and National Association of Legal Assistants provide codes of ethics to guide paralegals.
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Competence
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Competency, when achieved and maintained, provides an umbrella under which all facets of ethical behavior for paralegals can be fullfilled. To achieve competency, paralegals obtain a quality education; generally, an education program that has achieved the "American Bar Association Approved" designation fulfills this goal. Once paralegals obtain their education, competency is maintained by staying up-to-date regarding changes in law, practice and ethics in the legal profession. Of course, a competent paralegal will always strive to do her best work on all tasks.
Supervision
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Though a paralegal often works independently, her work must be supervised and approved by an attorney who must remain ultimately responsible for the work product. Most attorneys will take an active supervisory role in their paralegal's work because their names are attached to it, but sometimes the paralegal must seek out the required supervision to maintain his own high ethics.
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Integrity
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Maintaining personal and professional integrity is often intuitive and derived from common sense. Paralegals disclose they are a paralegal to everyone with whom they work and do not allow anyone to think they are attorneys. Ethical paralegals avoid ex parte communications and speak to the attorney of all parties represented by an attorney. They maintain honest, accurate and detailed billing and time records and follow their company’s billing practices without participating in any fraudulent practices. Paralegals must not abuse their position or misuse knowledge obtained, and must follow federal and state laws, and generally be a good citizen.
Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest
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Paralegals have access to a wide variety of private and/or sensitive information they must keep confidential. Communication between the attorney and anyone working at the attorney's law firm and a client is considered privileged as is any of the impressions, opinions or work product of the attorney or her firm and must not be disclosed outside of the law firm. Paralegals need to avoid conflicts of interest which may arise from past work experience, past employers, family relationships or business interests. Conflicts of interest, or anything that could be perceived as a conflict of interest, must be disclosed to the supervising attorney who will decide the paralegal's role, if any, in the matter.
Unauthorized Practice of Law
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Paralegals are not authorized to practice law and must be careful to avoid doing so. Only attorneys can provide legal advice and represent clients in court. Paralegals cannot perform any tasks an attorney is prohibited from performing or any task only attorneys are allowed to perform. Under the prohibition from the unauthorized practice of law ethical standard are related prohibitions from establishing attorney client relationships, determining legal fees, giving legal advice or representing clients in court.
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References
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