“Some are hesitant to say something because they may feel they’re stepping on toes,” explained Stacy Burke, immediate past president and parliamentarian of Legal Staff Professionals of South Carolina. “It’s tough because you don’t know the kind of backlash you’ll get. But the bottom line is that you’re protect- ing yourself, and you’re assisting attorneys in pro- tecting themselves.”
Weird kind of limbo
In 1991, the American Bar Association Stand- ing Committee on Paralegals developed its Model Guidelines for the Utilization of Paralegal Services for lawyers, which outlines what paralegals can and cannot do on the job. Most states have prepared similar guidelines.
The guidelines make clear that a lawyer is respon- sible for supervising the actions of a paralegal and bears the brunt of responsibility if violations occur. Both of the Carolinas operate under that premise.
Similarly, the National Association of Legal Assis- tants and National Federation of Paralegal Asso- ciations have developed model codes of ethics and professional responsibility that address paralegal conduct.
But because the profession is not licensed, there is no way to discipline paralegals if they provide legal advice or make an error that jeopardizes a case - unless their actions involve the blatant com- mitment of a crime.
“I think the issue is that there’s no way to police paralegals outside of the unauthorized practice of law or firing them,” said Kaufman. “We’re in a weird kind of limbo. If you’re a nurse and violate HIPAA in an egregious manner, you can lose your ability to get another job as a nurse. If I violate attorney-client confidence, I may lose my job, but that doesn’t mean I can’t walk down the street and work for Law Firm B.” Whether it’s fair that paralegals are insulated from discipline is a diffi- cult question to answer, said Tara Wilder, assistant director of the N.C. State Bar’s Board of Paralegal Certification.
56
Wilder said she could see a good argument for para- legals being regulated the way that nurses or other licensed professionals are.
But “the flipside of the coin is that if you’re going to have people out there with a license, that gives them more credibility,” Wilder said. “Who regulates them? Do they have their own disciplinary agency? That would open up a whole other arm of a regula- tory agency.”
For now, the biggest ramifications of non-criminal ethics violations by paralegals would be the revo- cation of any certifications they might have. But even that is entirely dependent on whether someone reports it, Wilder said.
“ S
eemingly minor questions can place paralegals in dangerous territory. ”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64