Law 20

1. Law 20 The Legal Team & Regulation of Lawyers

2. The Legal Team • Attorneys • Partner/Shareholder • Managing Partner • Associate Attorney • Lateral Hire • Nonequity Partner • Staff Attorney • Contract Attorney • “Of Counsel” • Legal Administrators • Legal Assistants • Office Managers • Law Clerks • Law Librarians • Legal Secretaries • Clerks

3. “Paralegal” - ABA Definition • American Bar Association: • A legal assistant or paralegal is a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.

4. Paralegal - NALA Definition • National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA): • [l]egal assistants are a distinguishable group of non-lawyers who assist attorneys in the delivery of legal services. Through formal education, training and experience, legal assistants have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and substantive and procedural law which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney.

5. Paralegal - NFPA Definition • National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA): • A paralegal/legal assistant is a person, qualified through education, training or work experience, to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity, or may be authorized by administrative, statutory, or court authority to perform this work.

6. Paralegal - California Definition • Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §6450 (2006): • “Paralegal” means a person who holds himself or herself out to be a paralegal, who is qualified by education, training, or work experience, and who either contracts with or is employed by an attorney, law firm, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity, and who performs substantial legal work under the direction and supervision of an active member of the State Bar of California…or an attorney practicing law in the federal courts of this state, that has been specifically delegated by the attorney to him or her. • Synonymous terms: paralegal, legal assistant, attorney assistant, freelance paralegal, independent paralegal, contract paralegal

7. Categories of Paralegal Practice • Traditional Paralegal • Under supervision of attorney • Law firm, corporate law department or governmental agency • Freelance or Contract Paralegal • Self-employed, independent contractor who hires themselves out to attorneys for specific projects or tasks • Independent Paralegal • Works directly for consumers without supervision by an attorney. • Complete forms and agreements and participate in real estate closings.

8. Paralegal Compensation • Salaries vary greatly, depending on education, training, experience, the type and size of employer, and the geographic location of the job. • In general, paralegals who work for large law firms or in large metropolitan areas earn more than those who work for smaller firms or in less populated regions. • In May 2006, full-time wage-and-salary paralegals and legal assistants had median annual earnings, including bonuses, of $43,040. The middle 50 percent earned between $33,920 and $54,690. The top 10 percent earned more than $67,540, and the bottom 10 percent earned less than $27,450. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of paralegals were: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, Paralegals and Legal Assistants, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos114.htm (visited January 2, 2009).

9. Types of Law Practice • Corporate Law Practice • large corporations, banks, retailers, manufacturers, transportation companies, publishers, insurance companies, and hospitals, have their own in-house law departments • Government Practice • law departments for agencies, district attorneys, city attorneys, attorney generals, and U.S. attorneys • Legal Services/Aid Office (Legal Clinic or Public Law Office) • Private Law Practice

10. Types of Private Law Practices • Sole Practitioner • Small Law Firms • fewer than 20 attorneys • “boutique law firm” • specializes in only one or two areas of the law • Medium-Size Firms • between 20 and 75 attorneys • Large Firms • between 75 and several hundred attorneys • Megafirms • a thousand or more attorneys • Plaintiff/Defense Firms • Mergers and Acquisitions • Geographic Service Areas

11. Legal Forms of Private Law Firms • Sole Proprietorship • Partnership • two or more attorneys associate themselves together and share in the profits or losses of the business • All the partners are jointly and severally liable for the actions of the firm and for the debts of the partnership • Professional Corporation • allows a single shareholder or group of shareholders from the same profession, to share in the outcomes of a business • Shareholders not personally liable • Limited Liability Company • allows for limited personal liability of company debts for owners, but is treated like a partnership for tax purposes

12. Davis v. Alabama State Bar • Pages 45- 48 of the Roper textbook.

13. Regulation of Lawyers • Codes of Ethics • ABA • Canons of Professional Ethics (1908) • Model Code of Professional Responsibility (1969) • Model Rules of Professional Conduct (1983) • Ethics 2000 (1997) • California has its own code of ethics

14. Sanctions and Remedies • Disbarment • CA State Bar Action • Suspension • Reprimand • Legal Malpractice

15. Regulation of Paralegals • ABA Standing Committee on Paralegals • National Association of Paralegal Assistants (NALA) • Certified Legal Assistant certification program • Certified Paralegal • National Federation of Paralegal Associations • Paralegal Advanced Competency Examination