NJ PT Juris common mistakes
NJ PT Juris · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Applying ABA Model Rule 1.6 to confidentiality questions and ignoring that New Jersey Rule 1.6 was amended to require reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent disclosure and to permit disclosure to detect conflicts after a firm change.
Candidates study the Model Rules or out-of-state materials and assume New Jersey is identical, but New Jersey has its own amendments, including a broader confidentiality rule and a duty to safeguard electronic information.
What to do instead
Memorize the New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) as adopted by the New Jersey Supreme Court, and for every confidentiality question identify the specific New Jersey RPC 1.6 provision and any comment that differs from the Model Rule.
Treating a paralegal as permitted to give legal advice or set fees as long as an attorney reviews the work later.
Candidates conflate supervised work with authorized practice and forget that the prohibition on unauthorized practice of law is status-based, not cured by later attorney review.
What to do instead
Apply the bright-line rule: paralegals may not give legal advice, set fees, or represent clients in court; attorney review after the fact does not cure a violation. Practice with hypotheticals that ask who may communicate what to the client.
Missing that a paralegal's conflict check must include the paralegal's own prior employment and personal relationships, not just the attorney's.
Candidates focus on attorney conflicts and overlook that New Jersey RPC 1.10 and imputation principles, as applied to nonlawyer screening, require screening of paralegals who change firms.
What to do instead
When answering conflict questions, list the paralegal's prior firms, clients, and personal financial interests, and state whether the firm has implemented a written screen and prohibited the paralegal from sharing information.
Filing or serving documents without checking the New Jersey Court Rules for the specific motion practice deadlines, such as the 16-day notice for motions under Rule 1:6-3 and the 10-day opposition period.
Candidates rely on general civil procedure knowledge or federal rules and do not verify the New Jersey Rules of Court, which have distinct timing and filing requirements.
What to do instead
Create a one-page timeline chart from the New Jersey Court Rules for common filings (motion, opposition, reply, discovery responses) and use it to answer every procedural timing question.
Citing a case without a pin cite or using only a unofficial online source, and failing to include the year or court in the citation.
Candidates treat citation as an afterthought and do not apply the New Jersey Manual of Legal Citation or the Bluebook conventions required in New Jersey courts.
What to do instead
Practice writing full citations with the official reporter, court, year, and pin cite; for New Jersey cases, use the New Jersey Reports and the New Jersey Superior Court Reports, and verify the citation against the official reporter.
Assuming the Superior Court, Law Division is the only trial court and ignoring the Tax Court, the Appellate Division, and the municipal courts when answering jurisdiction questions.
Candidates memorize a simplified court structure and forget that New Jersey has a unified but specialized court system with distinct jurisdictional limits.
What to do instead
Draw the New Jersey court structure from the Supreme Court down, noting the jurisdiction of each division and the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tax Court and the Appellate Division.
Responding to discovery requests by producing documents without a privilege log or by withholding documents without asserting a specific privilege.
Candidates know privilege exists but do not know the procedural requirement in New Jersey to log withheld documents and to state the basis for withholding under Rule 4:10-2(e).
What to do instead
Memorize the privilege log requirement and practice drafting a log entry with the document description, date, author, recipient, and the specific privilege asserted.
Communicating directly with a represented party about the subject of the representation without obtaining consent from that party's attorney.
Candidates focus on the attorney's no-contact rule but forget that paralegals are bound by the same prohibition under New Jersey RPC 4.2 and that the rule applies to any communication about the subject of the representation.
What to do instead
Before any client communication, confirm whether the person is represented and, if so, route all communications through the opposing attorney; document the consent in writing.
Failing to recognize that a paralegal may not sign pleadings or appear in court on behalf of a client, even under attorney supervision.
Candidates see paralegals signing correspondence and assume they may sign court documents, but New Jersey Rule 1:5-1 and the prohibition on unauthorized practice require an attorney's signature on pleadings.
What to do instead
Review the signature requirements in the New Jersey Court Rules and confirm that only an attorney admitted in New Jersey may sign and file pleadings; paralegals may prepare drafts but not sign.
Giving a legal opinion to a client in a client meeting without an attorney present, even if the opinion is later reviewed.
Candidates want to be helpful and forget that the attorney-client relationship and the giving of legal advice are reserved to licensed attorneys under New Jersey law.
What to do instead
Practice scripts that redirect legal questions to the supervising attorney and document the referral; remember that paralegals may explain procedures and facts but not advise on legal rights or remedies.