It’s natural to rely heavily on a paralegal who’s skilled, talented, and seems to innately understand your case work and clients. And there’s nothing wrong with delegating administrative work and client communications to a paralegal.
But some firms, especially smaller firms, can take this trust a step too far and delegate-tasks that technically risk a paralegal engaging in UPL (Unauthorized Practice of Law).
So what are the risks of allowing UPL, even accidentally, and what steps can you take to ensure this doesn’t happen at your firm?
What happens when you delegate representation, strategy, or attorney-client communications to your paralegal? In short, you risk ruining the reputation of your firm, risk legal action from clients, and put your paralegal in legal danger, as well.
Possible outcomes include:
These outcomes aren’t simply less than ideal; they could ruin your career and even cost you your license. But crossing the line into UPL is easier than many lawyers and paralegals realize. So let’s run down some simple things you can do to avoid the fallout, consequences, and risks to your firm.
This is a common error. You rely on your paralegal to handle email communications. Nothing illegal about that. Now, ideally, you’d dictate the email to them, but sometimes, you’re just too busy. The paralegal is handling emails while you’re trying to draft a motion.
“Yeah, just say whatever you feel works best; you know how personal injury law works. I trust you”, you shout from the office.
But when your paralegal is writing and sending emails as you with no supervision, that’s a problem. It’s fine for your paralegal to write to clients with case updates, making it clear the email is coming from office support. But no paralegal should be sending off emails, unsupervised, with your signature on them.
It’s simply too risky. To mitigate this, make sure all communications that are coming from your account and that have your signature on them are dictated by you. You give the input, and you ok the final send. Never give your paralegal free rein to write as you.
While an experienced, skilled paralegal will likely have a good grasp of the general principles of the area of law you practice, they still don’t have a law degree. It’s not unheard of for lawyers to run difficult cases by their paralegal, especially if they trust them and have an excellent rapport.
But be careful. You should never put pressure on your paralegal to come up with angles or strategies in your case work. Nor should you be asking them for legal advice. Some firms argue that getting paralegal input is ok as long as the idea is run by and approved by an attorney in the end.
But remember, your paralegal didn’t pass the bar and is not qualified to represent your client, strategize, or advocate for them. At all. Your paralegal should be handling motion drafting, your schedule, file organization, billing, and client intake. They should not be left to come up with ideas on how to defend your client in court alone.
For an example of how this can go sideways, and badly, relying on your paralegal for ideas and strategy could lead you to approve an approach which, unbeknownst to your paralegal, won’t work in light of recent changes to law. You took their advice, didn’t do your own research, and lost a case. Now, you’re at risk of a malpractice lawsuit.
Remember, you’re the lawyer, and you’re the captain. You handle the strategy, handle the angles, and decide how to leverage the evidence in front of you. Every time, for every case.
Because no one sets out to cross boundaries. It usually happens when everyone in your office is overwhelmed and short on time. So to mitigate these risks, be sure you have the right support systems in your corner and your supports’ corner.
The simplest way to avoid having a paralegal engage in UPL is to have systems in place that free up both of your time. When you’re not handling the extra tasks your paralegal simply doesn’t have the bandwidth for, both of you are free to work with greater care, focus, and attention to the risks of UPL.
To this end, an ILA can be an immense help. Does your paralegal need an additional 10-20 hours of support per week? Bring on an ILA. These are accredited, fellow attorneys who can assist with motion drafting, evidence review, billing, and e-filing.
Just like a paralegal, they can’t and won’t represent your clients, but can offer a level of care and professionalism that provides the breathing room that you and your in-office support need and deserve.
Interested in what an ILA could do for you and your paralegal support? Reach out to book a Discovery Call today.
Grace Singh is a writer and editor for DocketWorks. She enjoys bridging services and client needs in ways that are meaningful, memorable, and human-focused, even as technology continues to change. When she’s not at her home office, she enjoys nature walks, reading, and brewing coffee.