Chapter 19

The Ten Most Important Rules of Ethics

IN THIS CHAPTER

Condensing lots of ethics rules into ten easy-to-digest statements

Grasping the ethical do’s and don’ts to help you start your career

Because ethics are so crucial for the profession, the legal community takes ethical violations by lawyers and paralegals very seriously. Avoiding the kind of ethical problems that can cause difficulty for you and the lawyers you work with is important. Luckily, you can avoid most ethical problems by paying particular attention to some important rules. Here are the ten most important rules of ethics.

Avoiding the Unauthorized Practice of Law

One of the easiest mistakes to make is also one of the most serious. Although many ethical violations are the result of a deliberate decision to do something wrong, the unauthorized practice of law often results when a paralegal tries to do too much. You may want to help a client so much that you begin performing tasks that only a licensed attorney may perform.

You aren’t allowed to have your own clients and you must work under the supervision of a licensed attorney. As long as you’re properly supervised, you can perform numerous tasks on behalf of the client. The things paralegals are allowed to do vary slightly from state to state, so make sure to keep current on the rules of the state where you work.

Maintaining Client Confidentiality

As a legal professional, you have access to your office’s clients’ personal, private information. Your duty is to protect the confidentiality of that information. You may not share confidential information from any client with anyone, including members of your client’s family, the judge, opposing lawyers, or the media. The only person you can discuss this confidential information with is the attorney who represents the client and supervises your work.

Disclosing Your Paralegal Status

You must clearly indicate that you’re a paralegal when dealing with any client so no client mistakenly believes that you’re a licensed attorney. You may not use business cards or other materials that create the impression that you’re a licensed attorney (no matter what your mother tells her friends while playing mahjongg). Make sure that the clients you work with understand your role and responsibilities in the case, to avoid any possible misunderstandings.

Reporting Ethics Violations of Other Legal Professionals

When you have knowledge of fraud, deceit, dishonesty, or misrepresentation on the part of another legal professional, your duty to the legal profession requires that you disclose the information to the proper person, who in most cases is your supervising attorney. (If the person committing the ethical violation is your supervising attorney, you may report the problem to her superior; absent that option, report it to another trusted attorney or the state bar association.) Unethical behavior is so serious a threat to the legal profession that your failure to report such behavior, in itself, constitutes misconduct.

Disclosing Information to Prevent Death or Serious Bodily Harm

An exception to the client confidentiality rules occurs when you have confidential information that, if disclosed, may prevent a client from committing an act that could result in death or serious bodily harm. Your ethical duty to preserve a client’s secrets is considered to be subordinate to the duty to prevent death or serious bodily harm to a client or others.

In other words, if your client says, “Hey, I’m planning to bump off my boss Monday morning,” you have to tell someone — hiding behind the confidentiality rule won’t cut it. Again, that “someone” is your supervising attorney.

Sharing Information with Your Supervising Attorney

Your duty to preserve your client’s confidences doesn’t extend to keeping secrets from the attorney who’s supervising your work.

You aren’t allowed to actually have clients of your own, which means you must share all information with the attorney who represents the client. One way to get into serious ethical and professional trouble is to establish a secretive and improper relationship with a client that results in your coming between a client and his attorney.

Avoiding Conflicts of Interest

As a legal professional, you’re in a special position of trust in relation to the client. As a result, you must always work for your client’s benefit and avoid any actual (and potential) conflicts of interest. You must be free of compromising influences or loyalties arising from legal, business, or personal considerations. You also have to avoid working on cases that would conflict with your previous assignments.

This issue comes up more frequently with paralegals who work on a contract basis for several different attorneys. You can’t provide work for an attorney for the defendant and an attorney for the plaintiff in the same case, for instance.

Obeying All Applicable Attorneys’ Ethics Rules

In addition to the ethics rules that apply specifically to paralegals, you should adhere to the rules of ethics regarding attorneys. As a legal professional, you may perform tasks that are normally performed by a licensed attorney. Because you’re doing the work of an attorney under attorney supervision, you have to follow the rules that govern attorneys.

Giving Something to the Community: Pro Bono Services

As a busy paralegal, you may feel as though you never have enough time. However, if at all possible, you should find some time to devote to assisting those who can’t pay for legal work. Some paralegal codes of ethics call for paralegals to aspire to contribute a certain number of hours per year of pro bono (volunteer) work for persons of limited means or the organizations that help them.

Making Your Voice Heard: Supporting Efforts to Improve the Legal System

Many aspects of the U.S. legal system can be improved. Perhaps the most important of these is the lack of access to the court system for people with limited financial means. Throughout your career, you may find other aspects of the legal system that could use some reform. As a responsible legal professional, be sure to support efforts to improve the legal system. Some of the ways you can achieve this goal may be as ambitious as lobbying politicians to pass laws that enhance victims’ rights or as simple as burning the midnight oil to make sure you’ve done all you can to strengthen a client’s case.