Ethics, Professional Responsibility, and Unauthorized Practice of Law
Ethics, Professional Responsibility, and Unauthorized Practice of Law
This domain tests whether you can draw the line between lawyer work and nonlawyer work, apply the ethics rules as adopted in your jurisdiction, and handle client funds, confidences, and conflicts without creating risk for the supervising attorney.
Where the rules come from
The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct are a model, not binding law; each jurisdiction adopts its own version and adds ethics opinions, so a paralegal must read the state's adopted text. Rule 5.3 requires the lawyer to make reasonable efforts to ensure that nonlawyer conduct is compatible with professional obligations, and the lawyer is responsible for conduct the lawyer orders or ratifies. Rule 5.5 bars assisting unauthorized practice.
The UPL boundary
A paralegal may research, draft, organize files, interview clients to gather facts, communicate status, and prepare filings. A paralegal may not give legal advice, choose strategy, set fees, accept the representation, or sign pleadings. Explaining what a court form means is often treated as advice, so it can be UPL even when the answer seems mechanical. Some jurisdictions license narrow exceptions, such as Washington's Limited License Legal Technicians and certain administrative-agency representatives.
Confidences, money, and conflicts
Rule 1.6 confidentiality is broad and survives the end of the relationship; the attorney-client privilege is a narrower evidence rule that can be waived, so the two are not interchangeable. Under Rule 1.15, advance fees and costs belong in a trust account, disputed funds stay in trust until the dispute is resolved, and commingling or borrowing trust funds is a serious violation. Rule 5.4 forbids sharing legal fees with nonlawyers, so compensation should be salary or wages, not a percentage of fees. Conflicts under Rules 1.7, 1.9, and 1.18 can disqualify the whole firm, so a paralegal's prior employment and personal relationships matter.
Worked example
A client calls while the attorney is in court and asks whether to sign a settlement release. She says the deadline is Friday and she will lose her house otherwise. The paralegal may confirm the deadline from the file, may send the document or summarize its terms if instructed, and may schedule a call. The paralegal may not say "sign it" or "don't sign it," and should not sign as counsel. If the attorney has authorized a message, relay it and label it as the attorney's instruction.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating the Model Rules as the governing text in every state.
- Assuming confidentiality ends when the matter closes.
- Withdrawing a flat fee from trust before it is earned.
- Notarizing a document where the notary has a personal stake.
- Answering "just a quick procedural question" as though it were not advice.