This Employment Agreement outlines the terms and conditions under which both parties undertake to be bound. It is the goal of the Firm to establish clear and accurate expectations in preparation for the new employee, it is the hope of the Partners to prepare a document allowing the Paralegal to function to the best of their abilities as well as in good faith to the Firm in addition to clients. For the sake of this document, Clarke, Fernandes, Mongrain & Morgan, will be referred to as the “Firm” and henceforth the new employee shall be referred to as the “Paralegal”. The following agreement is undertaken by Clarke, Fernandes, Mongrain & Morgan and ___________________ beginning, this day, October 12th, 2017. 1. Expectations of Employment. …show more content…
1.6 The Paralegal is also governed by the Paralegal Rules of Conduct as set out by the Law Society of Upper Canada. These rules must be followed at all times, without exception. 2. Probationary and Supervision Period. 2.1 The employee will be subject to a three (3) month probation period upon accepting the terms and signing the present agreement. During the probation period, the Firm may at any time terminate the employment if the contract is breached or the duties as set out above are not being fulfilled by the Paralegal. 2.2 Furthermore, for the initial six (6) months of employment, the Partners shall directly supervise and oversee the caseload of the Paralegal. Therefore, all work completed must be reviewed by at least one of the Partners. Also, work completed must conform to the Firm’s standards as discussed with the Paralegal during the initial probation period. 3. Salary and Work Hours. 3.1 As a new employee within the Firm the starting salary will be for sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) annually. The aforementioned salary is intended for fifty two (52) work weeks of thirty two (32) to forty (40) hours, the Firm reserves the right to forgo paying overtime due to flexible and alternating workloads from week to week. However, the Paralegal is expected to work a minimum of thirty two (32) hours a week. Although the Paralegal
Courts generally have held that a paralegal and or legal assistant can achieve the objectives of communication and to provide potential clients with information concerning legal fees and representation if instructed by the supervising attorney. However, a paralegal and or legal assistant cannot provide a potential client with legal advices, accept cases, appear in court, and or provide decision(s) to the case(s). Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Morgan Joseph Hallmon, 343 Md. 390; 681 A.2d 510; 1996, a District of Columbia attorney employed his wife, Carole Cloud who is a law school graduate and is not admitted to practice law in any jurisdiction. Carole was hired as Office Manager, Coordinator, and Law Clerk of the firm. She performed legal work for a client of the firm, which mostly were reviewed and approved by the supervising attorneys Morgan Joseph Hallmon and Eric Cloud, her husband. Attorney Hallmon had given Ms. Cloud full responsibility of handling the case in which he has been kept aware and up to date with the proceedings and details of the case. The court stated:
Paralegals or legal assistants are qualified by education, training or work experience, but are not required by any state to be licensed. Although, legal assistants may get become certified through such organization as NALA or some state bar associations. Paralegals are a valuable asset to an attorney, but it is important for a paralegal or legal assistant to adhere to the standards of legal ethics and proper conduct, one of which, they must never give legal advice. A paralegal or legal assistant may assist an attorney, but the attorney is ultimately responsible, therefore the paralegal should work under the supervision of said attorney. Currently, there are no absolute requirements for a person to be a paralegal, but with most
Criminal law paralegals provide assistance to defense attorneys and prosecutors. Their duties include drafting documents, doing research, interviewing witnesses, putting together discovery information, communicating with other parties, and assisting attorneys when they are in
In order to complete this assignment we must first recognize what Unauthorized Practice of Law is when it comes to paralegals. There is no set definition on what UPL is but as a paralegal there are guidelines to go by. Some ways they can violate the practice of law would be an individual holding themselves as an attorney when they are paralegals, giving legal advice as an attorney would, or representing clients in a court of law. All of the previous are violations and can be subject to several disciplinary actions [ (Unauthorized Practice of Law, 2010) ]. It has been named illegal due to the damages on may suffer due to bad legal advice. In some states it is considered a criminal offense and could be given a jail sentence.
A paralegal is an individual who is qualified, through training, education or by virtue of the experience and are subsequently under employment or merely retained under a given lawyer or law firm, or an agency; to perform work that is delegated to him or her by the lawyer and for which the lawyer is responsible. Across the United States, paralegals profession is regulated by various certification laws, and this ultimately makes their work different.
The role a paralegal has in a law firm is a vital. These professionals are highly valued for the abilities they contribute in the area of knowing the law, legal research and how it applies to a client’s case. Furthermore, paralegals also as assist their Attorneys on a variety of tasks pertaining to a law related matters. Regardless, no matter how knowledgeable the paralegal may be; they are always required to work under the direct supervision of an attorney. There are very little exceptions for paralegals to work in the law field, unsupervised. Even in these exceptions, It is still possible for a professional paralegal, under the supervision of an attorney or not, to still commit UPL (California Legislative Information Business and Professions Code).
The Florida Paralegal Program was created in 2007, in order to regulate the paralegal profession in the state of the Florida. This program offers them a voluntary registration in this distingue organization, under the compromise to meet certain requirements such as education, certification, or work experience criteria, and also abide by a Code of Ethics and Responsibilities, all these based on the Chapter 20 of the Rules regulating the Florida Bar. Subsequently, these rules establish that a Florida Registered Paralegal is a paralegal who meets the requirements set out in Chapter 20 of the Rules regulating the Florida Bar. These rules designate that a paralegal is a person with education, training or work experience, who works under the direction of a member of The Florida Bar and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a member of The Florida Bar is responsible. However, there are certain differences, as well as pros and cons, between paralegals that are not registered under this rule and those who are, specifically on the following main points: work experience, education, and requirements to qualify.
There is a large amount of competition for paralegals in the area serviced by Detlor Paralegal Services. However, the issue of competition can be overcome and is outlined in the “Competition” portion of this business plan. Detlor Paralegal Services will service a large area, which may require much time commuting and constantly going to different courthouses. However, because the area served is large, a larger number of cases will present themselves, and depending on the profitability of those cases, can help to overcome the commuting
Detlor Paralegal Services will always put clients needs first and obey the Paralegal Rules of Conduct. The business will never skimp on quality when it comes to work and will advocate for clients as effectively as possible. Client satisfaction will also be of high importance, and if a client is unsatisfied, the business will always do what it takes to satisfy them as much as
This debate over paralegal licensing is touched on in an article in the Michigan Bar Journal. Timothy P. Flynn, states;
SCENARIO - Involving new hire paralegal Carl and the law firm Dewey, Dewey and Howe.
If the legal assistant or paralegal “floats” or works with different staff within a firm, this could cause a conflict of interest.
paralegals, as opposed to legal assistants. I am very grateful to have this opportunity to
* Performance management and rewards- It is outlined that all staff members of UNSW are held to a 6 month probation and if a supervisor feels the employee is progressing exceptionally well they may choose to accelerate the employee using the schedules mentioned in the base pay section.
Each state's regulations are unique and employers' requirements vary widely due to the many kinds of work that paralegals can do (National Federation of Paralegal Associations, 2012). It takes a lot of hard work and really knowing your legalese to be a great paralegal, and I am going to study very hard to get there.