Four Assignments from Attorney Reyes: Signature, Opposing Party, Notary, and Timesheet
You are a certified paralegal at a three-attorney firm. On Monday, Attorney Reyes hands you four assignments on the Haskins matter: (1) sign his name to a demand letter and mail it, since he is in trial all week; (2) call Dana Haskins's former business partner, who is represented by his own lawyer, to "feel out" what settlement number he would accept; (3) notarize an affidavit signed by your cousin, who is a witness in the case - you hold a valid notary commission; and (4) enter 0.4 hours on your timesheet as "legal research" for a day you actually spent at the courthouse filing documents on another matter. Reyes says, "Everybody does it; the client won't notice." The firm's policy manual states that paralegals may sign correspondence "on behalf of the attorney."
1. Evaluate assignments (1) and (2). Does the firm's policy manual change the analysis?
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Both (1) and (2) must be refused.
(1) Signing the attorney's name. A paralegal may sign a letter in her own name, identifying her capacity ("Paralegal to Attorney Reyes"), but signing the attorney's name is a misrepresentation of authorship and of the attorney's professional judgment. It implicates Rule 8.4(c) (conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), Rule 5.3 (the lawyer's duty to supervise nonlawyer staff), and, in many states, unauthorized practice of law, because the letter implies legal advice and a lawyer's signature. The lawful path: prepare the letter, route it for Reyes's electronic or wet signature, or sign it in your own name with the capacity stated. If a deadline is genuinely at risk, a short cover letter in your own name plus a request for expedited signature is the fix.
(2) Contacting a represented person. Rule 4.2 bars communication about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows is represented, absent that person's lawyer's consent. The duty is imputed to the firm through Rule 5.3 - a paralegal cannot do what the attorney cannot. "Feeling out" a settlement number is precisely the subject of the representation. Any contact must go through the partner's counsel, ideally in writing.
The manual does not help. A firm policy cannot authorize what the rules prohibit; internal policy is subordinate to the Rules of Professional Conduct. "Everybody does it" is not a defense, and both the attorney and the paralegal face exposure.
2. Assignment (3): may you notarize your cousin's affidavit?
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Decline, and have another notary in the office take the acknowledgment.
- Statutory disqualification. Most states' notary statutes disqualify a notary from notarizing for a spouse and, in many states, for a relative by blood or marriage, or for anyone with a direct beneficial interest in the transaction. Whether "cousin" is covered varies by state - check the state's notary public manual and the secretary of state's rules before refusing outright. If it is prohibited, notarizing is a violation that can void the acknowledgment and expose the notary to sanctions.
- Even where not prohibited, impartiality is compromised. A notary must confirm identity, that the signer is acting voluntarily, and that the signer understands the document. A relative-witness whose affidavit supports the firm's client creates an obvious attack point on cross-examination and a disqualification motion.
- Firm-level interest. If the cousin receives an inheritance or benefit turning on the affidavit, the notary has a conflict as well.
Action plan: disclose the relationship to Attorney Reyes in writing, have a different notary or a notary outside the firm perform the acknowledgment, and note in the file that the conflict was avoided rather than simply ignored. Do not notarize first and disclose later.
3. Assignment (4): what is your obligation on the timesheet entry, and how should you escalate?
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Refuse the entry and escalate in writing.
Why it is not a gray area:
- Billing a client for work not performed is a false claim for a fee, violating Rule 1.5 (fees must be reasonable) and Rule 8.4(c) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, misrepresentation). It may also be insurance fraud or theft depending on the fee agreement and the payer.
- Filing time that did not occur also corrupts the fee-shifting record and would be devastating in a fee dispute or a bar audit.
- Your duty is independent of the attorney's instruction. "The client won't notice" concedes the intent element.
Escalation ladder:
- Tell Reyes directly, once, in plain terms: the entry is inaccurate; you will not record it; you will record the actual courthouse work under its correct matter.
- If he insists, take it to the managing partner or the attorney designated by the firm's written ethics policy, and put the report in writing with dates and the specific instruction as given - contemporaneous documentation matters.
- Consult the state bar's ethics hotline or the NALA ethics guidance before taking any step outside the firm. The duty of confidentiality limits what you may disclose externally; a report to the bar is generally the lawyer's obligation, but your own exposure as an aider may require it if the conduct continues.
- Preserve the actual timesheet records; do not alter a prior entry to cover the instruction.
Bottom line: assignment (4) is the one with criminal exposure - treat the refusal as non-negotiable and do not trade your certification for a 0.4-hour entry.