PP Paralegal cheat sheet

ABA Model Rule 1.6 bars a lawyer from revealing information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, disclosure is impliedly authorized, or a recognized exception applies.

Confidentiality under Rule 1.6 is broader than attorney-client privilege: the privilege covers only confidential communications made to obtain legal advice and belongs to the client.

Rule 5.3 requires a lawyer with managerial authority to make reasonable efforts to ensure that a nonlawyer's conduct is compatible with the lawyer's professional obligations.

Under Rule 1.7, a concurrent conflict exists when representation of one client will be directly adverse to another client or a significant risk exists that the lawyer's personal interests will materially limit the representation.

Rule 1.15 requires client funds to be held in a trust account separate from the lawyer's own funds; commingling is prohibited, and disputed funds must remain separate until the dispute is resolved.

Rule 3.3 imposes a duty of candor to the tribunal, including correcting a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the court.

Rule 4.2 prohibits a lawyer from communicating about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows is represented by another lawyer, absent consent or legal authorization.

The unauthorized practice of law includes a nonlawyer giving legal advice, selecting or interpreting legal documents for another, or setting legal fees on behalf of a client; paralegals may perform substantive work under attorney supervision.

Federal diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 requires complete diversity of citizenship between all plaintiffs and all defendants and an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a defendant may move to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; under Rule 12(a)(1)(A), a defendant generally must answer within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint.

The elements of negligence are duty, breach of that duty, actual causation, proximate causation, and damages.

A contract requires offer, acceptance, consideration, mutual assent, and legality of purpose; UCC Article 2 governs sales of goods and does not require consideration for a merchant's firm offer.

Hearsay is an out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted under FRE 801; it is inadmissible unless an exception or exclusion applies.

In a criminal case the prosecution must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt; in a civil case the plaintiff generally must prove the claim by a preponderance of the evidence.

Personal jurisdiction requires minimum contacts with the forum such that maintenance of the suit does not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.

Adverse possession typically requires actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous possession that is hostile to the true owner for the statutory period.

A statute of limitations bars a claim after a set time measured from accrual; a statute of repose bars a claim after a fixed period regardless of when the injury is discovered.

Primary authority is the law itself, including constitutions, statutes, regulations, and court decisions; secondary authority such as treatises and law reviews explains the law and is persuasive rather than binding.

Mandatory authority must be followed by a court, such as an applicable statute or a decision of a higher court in the same hierarchy; persuasive authority is not binding.

IRAC stands for Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion and is a standard structure for legal analysis in memoranda, briefs, and exam answers.

A holding is the court's necessary resolution of the issue presented and binds later courts; dicta are statements not necessary to the decision and are persuasive only.

Shepard's on Lexis and KeyCite on Westlaw are citator services used to verify that a case or statute is still good law and to find citing references.

The Bluebook is the primary citation manual for U.S. legal writing; local court rules control citation format when they differ from the Bluebook.

Annotated statutes reproduce the statutory text and add case annotations, cross-references, and research aids; pocket parts or supplements update the bound volumes.

A headnote is an editor-added summary of a point of law in a case and is not authority; the text of the court's opinion controls.

Open-ended questions invite narrative answers and fuller facts; closed-ended questions elicit specific, often yes-or-no information and are useful for confirming details.

Active listening requires attending, reflecting, clarifying, and summarizing the client's statements rather than interrupting or assuming facts.

Attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between client and lawyer made to obtain legal advice; a paralegal's communications at the lawyer's direction may fall within the privilege.

A paralegal may not promise outcomes, give legal advice, or express personal opinions about the merits; legal questions are referred to the supervising attorney.

Conflict screening should occur before the first substantive client interview and should search the names of parties, counsel, and related entities.

Plain-language communication uses short sentences, active voice, and common words while preserving legally operative terms and avoiding changes in meaning.

When a client is upset, the paralegal should acknowledge the emotion, allow the client to finish, restate the concern, and route substantive legal questions to the attorney.

Cultural competence includes recognizing how language, values, and experiences affect communication and avoiding assumptions based on a client's background.

A docket control system records every deadline, including statutory, court-ordered, and internal dates, and assigns a responsible person plus advance reminders.

A conflicts-check database is searched for all party names, adverse counsel, and related entities before opening a new matter and when adding a party.

E-discovery under the Federal Rules requires preservation of electronically stored information once litigation is reasonably anticipated; spoliation can result in sanctions.

Metadata is hidden information embedded in electronic files, such as author, creation date, and revision history, and may need to be scrubbed before production.

A privilege log identifies documents withheld from production and states the author, recipient, date, subject, and basis for the privilege or work-product claim.

Timekeeping entries should be contemporaneous, specific, and task-based; block billing and vague entries such as 'work on case' may be disallowed.

A document retention policy specifies retention periods by record type and suspends destruction when litigation, an audit, or an investigation is reasonably anticipated.

Password hygiene includes unique credentials, multi-factor authentication, and no sharing of passwords; phishing is a leading cause of law firm data breaches.