Chapter 1 Review Questions: Question #3. Describe the functions of the members of the legal team. The lawyer is the lead in the legal team and has passed the bar examination and have a license to practice law in their respective state(s). In larger firms, the lawyers can be assigned as partners and associates. The partner has actual ownership in the firm whereas the associate are usually on salary as an employee, not being an owner in the firm. The supervising attorney in a large firm is responsible for the actions and work of the lawyers under him/her. The paralegal is responsible for the litigation process. Some of the responsibilities of the paralegal are preparing casework, investigations, preparing briefings, conducting …show more content…
Question #8. What is the ethical obligation of the paralegal to the court? The paralegal should avoid all conduct that undermines the integrity of the litigation process. They have an obligation not to mislead the court or opposing counsel. Question #9. What is the ethical obligation of a litigation support staff member to the client? To the court? Of a litigation support person from outside firm or consultant? The support staff owes the client confidentiality and fairness. They owe the court their honesty in not misleading the court with false statements or facts known to be false. The litigation support person owes their confidentiality and ethical conduct. Question #10. Why is conflict of interest an issue for the legal team? If the legal assistant or paralegal “floats” or works with different staff within a firm, this could cause a conflict of interest. Question #11. What are the ethical issues for a law firm using outside computer or technology consultants? The issues are with the data within those types of equipment. Client confidential information cannot be available to anyone outside the representing legal team. Using outside equipment creates a potential for data leak. Question #12. Do the ethical rules of fairness prevent lawyers from aggressively advocating a client’s position? So long as the attorney complies with the rules of the court and presents truthful facts and data to support the client’s
When I have to provide information to the client always indicate that the information is from the attorney.
Client must be honest and legit. Attorney will advance all "costs" in connection with Attorney's representation of Client under this agreement. Attorney will not settle Client's claim without the endorsement of Client. Client may release Attorney whenever by composed notice. Attorney may withdraw at any time as permitted under the
“I treat my clients the way I would want to be treated; with respect and by someone who gives straightforward, honest answers. No relationship can work without trust, whether it’s marriage, family, or business. An attorney-client relationship is no different.” This quote by Sarah Swain, is the perfect representation of the sacred relationship that an attorney has with his client in the United States justice system. In order for the justice system to work efficient, a client must be able to trust his enough his attorney to tell him everything about the facts of the case so that the justice can be served. The first section of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) Model Rules of Professional Conduct also sets forth rules for the attorney-client relationship in great detail. The communication between an attorney and client is also privileged and the attorney is to take reasonable steps to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client as per Rule 1.6 on the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Identify and discuss the ethical issues for the attorney and paralegals above. What would you recommend Charles the attorney employer do in this situation? Does Susan have any moral obligations in the above scenario?
Defense attorney ensure awareness that the court should be concerned with preserving due process protection of the Constitution (Klein). The client is the primary obligation. Defense counsel should strive to eliminate implicit biases and "act to mitigate any improper bias or prejudice when credibly informed that it exists within the scope of defense counsel’s authority." (American Bar Association) It is important to detect, investigate, and eliminate any improper biases in the attorney’s work.
The ethical dilemma in this situation is the unauthorized practice of law. Not having an attorney supervise his work is an example of unauthorized practice of law. I feel that no line was crossed on Jeff's behalf. If I were in the same situation and helping previous clients or illegal then I would not have a problem doing so. I would make sure to draw the line at ethics and what is legally right and wrong. D soul difference between a paralegal and an attorney is a few more legal classes in the bar exam. With the reassurance of a practicing attorney that the paralegal works for, I do not see a problem with a paralegal giving legal advice. The role of a paralegal is a person who performs legal work as authorized by the law. Yes, Jeff appropriately
Ethical duties of a defense lawyer are also tested when they are providing counsel to juvenile and mentally ill clients. Due to a lack of understanding
For the partners to do their job, it is necessary to free them up from the myriad details associated with basic case management duties. To the extent associate attorneys and paralegals take personal responsibility for seeing tasks through to completion and providing partners with brief reminders that tasks are being handled, the partners are free to focus on overall case strategy.
There are three primary responsibilities of the Florida Bar Association. Firstly, any attorney who has been determined to have engaged in unethical practices, thereby failing upheld standards of the legal profession, will be prosecuted by the Bar. For these purposes, the Bar maintains a special protection fund to compensate clients which have incurred financial damages as a consequence from the actions of any lawyer and association member. Secondly, the association provides an environment engendering leadership and contemporary instruction for ethical guidance, continuing education, and infrastructure to support conferences and meetings for its members. As a result, attorneys in Florida are kept up-to-date on changes to the legal atmosphere
Secondly, in applying ethical standards, there are no rules in the Solicitor’s Rules on dealing with clients with mental health issues. However, in considering the four models of lawyering, I adopted an adversarial advocate/responsible lawyer approach as my main concern was discerning the relevant facts of the case to ensure that I could serve the best interests of the client in relation to his legal issue (Parker and Evans). However, if I had adopted an ethics of care approach I may have asked him about his mental health issues and whether he was seeking help. This is
Another work is additionally utilized for these attorneys and it is an "Offended party" legal advisor, in charge
In addition, an attorney must identify impending clients credentials, to determine whether there are any conflicts of interest in representing either the Robertson’s or Adcock’s; and that is, the rules prohibit the representation of a client if that representation will be directly
The main ethical issues in this case is Rule 1.6 Client-Lawyer Relationship: Confidentiality of Information. The rule states that, “a lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized to carry out the representation or the disclosure is permitted by paragraph (b)” which states a lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believe necessary. (ABA, Rule 1.6 Confidentiality of Information, 2017). Rule 1.6(c) “a lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation
During the direct examination of our client, who I played, our main objective was for me to tell as much of my side of the story as possible. It was sometimes difficult, making sure I said everything I needed to say, as I could only be asked about things I had already brought up. This experience has taught me the importance of talking to clients about going on the stand, and what is expected of them. Overall, although my group was not successful, I believe we did an adequate job at showing to the court the emotional turmoil our client was under. Although we did not prepare for the plaintiff’s cross-examination questions, I think we had handled them well. We were able to clarify most things through direct, and therefore put context to the questions we were then asked in the
There are limits as a defense attorney and a code of ethics. Attorney’s cannot break the law or violate the rules of ethics by lying to the court. In addition, they cannot persuade someone to commit perjury. Any statement the client makes to the attorney is privileged and the attorney cannot disclose this information to anyone. It is critical to uphold the integrity of the law and all applicable ethical codes. However, there are three exceptions that will compromise the attorney client privilege, which include: If a client informs his or her attorney, they plan on committing future criminal acts.