So how then is a paralegal disciplined? Is he fired; put on leave without pay; is his name tarnished in the legal community?
According to The Empowered Paralegal, a paralegal blog, a Florida jury found in favor of a paralegal who entered into a contract with her supervising attorney to receive a portion of the earnings from the attorney's fees.
If you have been paying attention in Legal Ethics, this is fee-sharing or fee-splitting and is prohibited for non-lawyers. The paralegal goes to court, knowing she has committed unethical behavior, will be fired, and will be known in the community for her unscrupulous behavior, yet still pursues the case which ultimately results in her supervising attorney being disciplined.
I find it strange that two legal professionals can go to court, both having committed unethical behavior and only one is disciplined. Even though the lack of a paralegal ethical code protects me from court discipline, I would like to have the confidence that any non-lawyer with whom I work is under the same rules and guidelines as any lawyer with whom I work.
This issue applies to paralegals who work in all kinds of law, business, family, litigation, personal injury, and others. I think clients should be able to have the confidence in all parts of their legal representation and that there are legal consequences for those who misbehave.
This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.
It is a little puzzling that there are no reprocussions for unethical acts committed by paralegals. I think that all in the legal profession should be held accountable for there actions. I do think the attorney should be there to supervise and only if the paralegal was instructed incorrectly by the attorney should the paralegal escape being punished for ethical misconduct.
ReplyDeleteI was truly surprised when I read your blog. I
ReplyDeletealways thought that the paralegal as well as their supervising attorney came under the same
guidelines and disciplinary actions for the unethical practice of law. I find it hard to fathom that the attorney would be punished and the paralegal goes "scott free," as the statement goes. Just as in the other comment that was posted, if the paralegal does something they know is wrong, and get caught at it, they too should be disciplined, especially if their supervising attorney was involved in the act as well and didn't nothing to prevent it. Both parties should be equally disciplined.
I think it could be unfair for an attorney to be punished for a paralegal's misconduct, especially if the attorney could not have done much to prevent the problem. With the increase of paralegals in the legal field, it may be time for them to have their own ethical obligations and regulation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that both paralegals and attorney should be disciplined fot ethical breaches. I was surprised to read that paralegals face no repercussions for their misdeeds. While I don't believe paralegals should be punished for acts that they did not know were unethical and were committed at the direction of their supervising attorney. However, most of the time the paralegal would know (or should know) what his or her obligations were and should be punished accordingly for a breach.
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ReplyDelete