Unauthorized Practice Of Law
Criminal justice
In the event that Mr. Stan Smith calls poly paralegal (a friend) and asks whether the divorce grounds in North Carolina included adultery, Polly paralegal would first of all things state that she is not a lawyer, she is paralegal; this would let her fiend Mr. be aware that she isn’t permitted to offer any form of legal advice. Still, she cannot answer the question because of the fact that she would be giving her personal advice and a legal advice at the same time. She was in a position of researching for information on the question and stating to Mr. Smith the exact answer according to her research. Suppose she reads to him word by word without including her opinion, then that would not have been UPL. For the purpose of making things much easier and ensuring that misunderstandings did not occur; she could refer Mr. Smith to where he could research about the laws of North Carolina. Through this way Mr. Smith could never accuse Polly for giving him a legal advice of any kind. Through this route, Polly could cover her self fully.
Law 5
It is the duty of a paralegal to disclose her or his status as a paralegal at the beginning of any proficient relationship with an attorney, a client, administrative personnel or agency, a court, or a member of the public in general. A paralegal has the responsibility of acting prudently in determination of the extent at which a client can be assisted in the absence of an attorney.
In the event that Polly answers Mrs. Smith question that regards to whether or not she has the right to divorcé in North Carolina, then she will be guilty of UPL. By doing this would have taken a personal state of affairs and benevolent her legal thought on the personal action that Mrs. Smith should take. In this case, the services of an attorney would be suitable for addressing Mrs. Smith’s needs. Polly is supposed to clearly indicate to Mrs. Smith that according to the law, she was not in a position to issue a legal advice.
Law 3
According to the law, a paralegal has no right to (a) encourage, engage in or contribute to acts that can part of unlawful practices. (b) Establish a client- attorney relationship. She will have broken the law by expressing her personal opinion and can be proven guilty of ULP. Poly’s conduct can be categorized as a conduct on a non attorney being involved in legal matters. The state laws of North Carolina have provides that, by advising a member of the general public, paralegals exceeds their limitations on their services through provision of legal advice. This is among the issues that have continued to receive scrutiny by the committee of legal affairs.
The law statutes of north Carolina limits of law to the active members of the state bar as well as the properly registered professional corporations and the qualified law firms. Authorized practice committee is the state bar’s standing committee that has been granted the authority of acting upon and investigating the unauthorized practices of law in the state. Among the rules of the state bar of north Carolina is that the purpose of the committee on authorized law practices is to safeguard the interests of the general public from being unlawfully represented and advised in the legal matters by unqualified personnel like Polly (Orlik & Deborah K, 1993).
References
Berkey, &Rachel L., (1983). New Career Opportunities in the Paralegal Profession. New York: Arco.
Glenview & Scott, (1986). Ethics for the Legal Assistant. Glenview: Scott.
Orlik & Deborah K, (1993). Ethics for the Legal Assistant. Foresman.