legal case Essay

ABA 5.3 (A)(B)(C). – Attorney Howe did not make reasonable efforts to supervise his paralegal. Mr. Howe knew that Carl was inexperienced in the firm as a “new-hire and should have practiced due diligence in his supervisorial duties. Attorney Howe failed to give clear guidelines and did not take immediate

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:

Model Rule 5.5(B)- Attorney Howe, left a new hire, Carl, unattended, while also suggesting that he may conduct interviews in his office without specifying particulars regarding his presence or direct supervisory responsibilities. In hindsight, Attorney Howe could be indirectly contributing to the unauthorized practice of law due to his gross negligence to supervise his paralegal.

Mr. Potbelly holds a garage sale at his home. Mr. Slim Jim stops by the sale and upon noticing a rare piece of art pottery offers a price of $100 for the art that is marked $250. Mr. Potbelly accepts Mr. Slim Jim’s offer. Mr. Potbelly informs Mr. Slim Jim he is selling his home because he is moving up north because he has lost his job. Mr. Slim Jim asks how much he is selling it for and Mr. Potbelly informs him he is thinking $75,000. Mr. Slim Jim offers him $70,000 cash for the property which Mr. Potbelly immediately accepts the offer. Mr. Slim Jim informs Mr. Potbelly that he will be back in one hour with a cashiers’ check made payable to Mr. Potbelly. Mr. Potbelly says “Great!” and that while Mr. Slim Jim

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

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.

My years of practice have involved high volumes of case, high demands, and required attention to detail. I am well versed in the various federal, state, and local statues, rules, policies and regulations. In my

The Violations committed by the paralegal on that day are; The Paralegal failed to present Him/Herself with the right title of his/her position; The Paralegal failed to inform the Attorney of the dishonest and Fraudulent acts being committed by the client assisted on the case.

Since Detlor Paralegal Services cares about the public and improving access to justice, all clients who cannot afford assistance from this business will be referred to Community Legal Clinics that offer the same services for a much smaller fee if not for free. For example, if a victim of crime from Belleville cannot afford Detlor Paralegal Services, they will be referred to Sharon Powell of the Community Advocacy and Legal Centre. Tenants who cannot afford legal services and do not have a conflict of interest with Detlor Paralegal Services or one of it’s clients will also be referred to Community Legal

Karen L. Stern of Bernstein & Stern, LLC in Worchester, Massachusetts, has been practicing law since 1987. She represents clients throughout the state of Massachusetts as well as New England and the rest of the United States. Ms. Stern's cases include a wide range of matters related to personal injury and employment law. She handles medical malpractice, wrongful death, motor vehicle accidents, trip-and-fall accidents, laser injuries and other cases in which her client has been injured through the negligence of others. She also handles cases related to wrongful termination, employer's failure to pay wages, contract disputes, workplace harassment, deceptive or unfair business practices, fraud and breach of contract.

Acting as a legal practitioner is considered a “great privilege” and “offers the opportunity to serve the community in a profoundly important way.” Lawyer’s roles as officers of the Court and administrators of justice give them a monopoly on the delivery of counselling and representation services. In order to “maintain their capacity to serve the community” , legal practitioners must accept that they are

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.

According to Porter, Gildon, & Zgliczynski (2000), people claiming to be counselors is a serious problem in the state of California because no formal standards are set for appropriate licensure except for that of a marriage counselor. This lack of standards and credentials causes many problems for those seeking advice and assistance with a particular problem. More importantly, the public is not protected even if they take a case to court and the “counselor” is found guilty. What is to be taken away? He can continue to practice because he does not have a certificate to begin with. Lreh

Pre-Paid Legal plans are designed to help middle-income Americans have affordable access to quality legal assistance. — Pre-Paid Legal Services Corporate Vision Harland C. Stonecipher founded the Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (PPLS) in 1972 after an expensive encounter with lawyers stemming from an automobile accident. PPLS sold legal expense insurance that provided for partial payment of legal fees in connection with the defense of certain civil and criminal actions. The company went public in 1979 and grew rapidly throughout the 1980s as an increasing number of Americans subscribed to legal service insurance (see Exhibit 1). In 1998 the company had membership

Erin Brockovich is in a car accident that is not her fault and hires attorney Ed Masry to defend her. He gave her the impression that she would be getting a good settlement, but she lost the case. She is a single mom of three, has no money and is unable to find a job. She blames him for losing the case (due to lack of preparation) and forces her way in to a job at his law firm. Because of the way she dresses and acts, nobody takes her seriously and treats her with respect. She is given a real estate pro-bono file to open involving the purchase of Donna Jensen’s home by Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PS&E). As she read through the documentation, she found it confusing that there was medical