Identify two ethical issues related to Amanda’s actions in t

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Rasmussen College, Saint Cloud *

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MAN3710

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Law

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Feb 20, 2024

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Identify two ethical issues related to Amanda’s actions in the scenario. • Confidentiality • Unauthorized Practice of Law For each ethical issue you identify, locate the applicable guideline from the ABA Model Guidelines for Utilization of Paralegal Services that governs Amanda’s actions and explain why her behavior violates the guideline. • Guideline 6: A lawyer is responsible for taking reasonable measures to ensure that all client confidences are preserved by a paralegal. o This means that when Amanda got a call from Gracie about wanting to file a protective order against her husband, she should be protected by Mrs. Smith so that her information would be protected. Amanda broke this guideline when she told her friend about Gracies filing over dinner. This broke lawyer-client confidentiality. • Guideline 4: A lawyer is responsible for taking reasonable measures to ensure that clients, courts, and other lawyers are aware that a paralegal, whose services are utilized by the lawyer in performing legal services, is not licensed to practice law. o Amandas behavior goes against the guideline because she signed for Mrs. Smith and filed the motion without Mrs. Smith reviewing any of the information that was obtained from Gracie. Her behavior also violates the guideline when she gave Gracie legal advice about how she legally is entitled to full custody of the children and that Gracies husband will not be able to do anything about it. Research and locate your state’s statute regarding the unauthorized practice of law. Assuming Amanda violated the state statute, what criminal punishment might Amanda receive? Include citations to support your comments. • Minn. Stat. Ann. § 481.02 o This statute states what it constitutes as unauthorized practice of law. • Minn. Rules of Prof'l Conduct 8.4 o This statute states the criminal punishments she would receive if she partook in an unauthorized practice of law. Amanda could face possible jail time or even a prison sentence. If it’s a misdemeanor conviction it can be one year in jail, if deemed a felony it could be one or more years, but five years or more is possible in some states. If you were Amanda in the scenario, how would you have responded to the attorney’s instructions telling you to complete the forms? What would you have told Gracie? • If I were Amanda, I would have let my attorney know all the information and drafted up something for my attorney to review. If my attorney stated the things Amandas did about signing her name, filing it, etc. I would have let my attorney know that is out of my practice within law and that I would not be able to do that. It risks both my job as well as my attorney's job. I would let my attorney know that I could have everything ready for her so that when she got back it would be completed and ready for filing. When Amanda was speaking to Gracie, she should have let her know what her role was within the firm and that she would take down all the information and relay it to Mrs. Smith. When Gracie asked about leaving the state, Amanda should have told her that she was unable to give

any legal advice but that she could inform Mrs. Smith about Gracies idea of leaving the state and Mrs. Smith would get back to her as soon as possible.

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