Unauthorized Practice of Law

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.

Lawyers can't represent clients when they have a conflict of interest. For example, an attorney could not sue someone he had previously represented if his previous representation gave him information that would lead to an unfair advantage or the appearance of one. This is where the ethical issues began to arise lawyers in the same firm typically can't represent clients with opposing interests. Even if one lawyer in the firm has no direct conflict of interest, the fact that another lawyer does might prohibit representation that could lead to sanctions or complications for the lawyer or the firm he or she may represent.

Regardless if a paralegal knows the answer to a client’s legal question, they must never give that client any advice or direction for applying case law recommendations and remedies to the client’s legal question. Furthermore, when a paralegal is working in a law firm and they come into contact with a client, whether it be interviewing

As a paralegal I am not sure if in this case I would have any ethical issue. The ethical question would apply more of the relationship between the attorney and client. If the paralegal finds unethical to work on a case where the client is obviously obsess with money and nothing else, and perhaps is willing to do anything to keep his business assets, than the paralegal can asked to not work on the case. In my opinion, to even work in family law practice that takes a special person. Perhaps, someone who understands, that every person have different values and is willing to take extra measures to achieve his or her goal. As well as, probably in every divorce case, one of the spouses is just like Mary Johnson and the other very similar to Samuel

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.

During the 2013-2014 (July 1- June 30) months, over 552 cases were opened regarding the unlicensed practice of law. The Florida Bar website has referenced 9 cases that has defined the way that the courts are regulating and creating new provisions to handle UPL’s. (Board Paper Issue.Com) In this next case the case serves as a benchmark for the way that the courts will evaluate whether the conduct is practicing law. This foundation took place in 1962, see State of Florida ex rel. The Florida Bar v. Sperry. In 1978 a case known as The Florida Bar v. Brumbaugh discussed how people who sell “do it yourself” legal kits and form sellers can legally operate when conducted by nonlawyers. The case explains the procedures and the legal practice to lawfully operate. “This case liberalized the former laws by allowing nonlawyers to sell printed material purporting to explain legal practice and procedure to the public, and to operate secretarial services that type the forms for the customers” (board paper issue.com) This is only okay if the typist is copying word for word what the customer has given them. To review the rules in greater detail, see rule 10-2.1(c) on rules regulating the Florida Bar. (Board Paper Issue.Com)

Since paralegals can only work under the supervision of an attorney, by doing the opposite may be consider an unauthorized practice of law, so paralegals must avoid assisting in the unlicensed practice of

Paralegals may not be the head honcho in the courtroom before a judge and jury. The behind the scene work that a paralegal performs is crucial to a lawyer. Looking at all the tasks that paralegals are responsible for doing, people will definitely realize that paralegals are important to the legal process, almost to the same degree of the work that the attorney is doing. Paralegals do almost everything that lawyers do, except give legal advice or present cases in court. Most of the work paralegals do is behind-the-scenes, which is why they rarely get the praise that the lawyer does.

Justice. It is something that everyone wants, something that we strive for, even something that sparks. However, when we think of lawyers, we think of superheroes with an expensive education, walking into the courtroom and serving up justice. What no one thinks of is the person that helped the lawyer get there, the paralegal that prepares the necessary documents, the paralegal that makes sure his or her attorney is at the right place at the right time. A paralegal is crucial and in some cases vital to our justice system yet they are so often over looked.

In stating so, Flynn argues that while some in the legal field think that paralegals are supervised and work under an attorney, therefore do not need to be licensed or certified. Others believe paralegals handle intricate legal matters, therefore should be licensed and certified. This statement from Flynn reinforces my belief that paralegals are essential to the effectiveness of a law firm and leads into my standing that licensing should be in place to ensure education, knowledge and adherence, which in turn will make a paralegal more valuable. Licensing of the paralegal profession and the requirements of experience and education that come with it; would dispel the long time misunderstanding of position titles among law office staff, attorneys and the public.

The paralegals in this field, as with most, will be involved in a wide variety of job responsibilities. Preparing documents for the client and the attorney, after gathering the necessary and important information is to assemble the information in an order and prepare the court documents needed to file. Paralegals will also maintain case files, petition for a list of a client’s personal property and assets and gather all the banking account information that a client has.

For This day the paralegal made more violation as the previous days. Carl made personal conflict with the clients personal information and released information to the client regarding her ex-boyfriend. The paralegal scheduled the person she advertised the law firm to at the scene of the accident to meet with Howe without his consent to do so before. Carl takes the new case without the assistance of the attorney and also gives advice to the new client sally brown regarding what to say and informs her to lie to be able to win the case. The last violation the paralegal did for the day was he gave the client an estimate of how much she would be charged without discussing it with the attorney.

In the state of Florida, there are ethical standards that school counselors must follow that apply to the Woodlock vs. Orange Ulster case. Whenever a counselor is in doubt about the ethical behavior of colleagues, the counselor is indebted to take suitable action to resolve the

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an ethical dilemma as a problem where a person has to choose between a moral and an immoral act. Attorneys come into contact daily which involves the attorney-client relationships. The attorney-client privilege is a legal privilege that works to keep communications between a lawyer and his/her client secret (silence is golden). The privilege is a legal doctrine that protects confidential information, the contents and actions related to the privileged communication must preserve the integrity of the attorney-client privilege. This paper presents the ethical dilemmas of the attorney-client privileges, trust and the importance of adequate closure in attorney-client relationships.

Probably. An individual can be held guilty of UPL when he claims to be an attorney, gives legal advice beyond the knowledge or skill held by an average person, or aids in legal forms beyond the communication of strictly what is factual and necessary. Sycamore did not claim to be an attorney, however he did tell Hardy about court proceedings and asked case-specific questions regarding Hardy’s Case. Sycamore also aided in the selection and completion of forms by showing Hardy is legal research and indicating to her what she had left out. Consequently, Sycamore violated The Florida Bar Rules on professional conduct by practicing law without a license.