C O L U M N S

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

It has been such an honor to lead the Division this past year. I leave you in the capable hands of your new President, Kristine Farmer, and a tremendous Board of Directors. I have encouraged you all year to become more involved in the Division and to share membership information with persons in your area who are not members. I know there have been several local legal assistant associations disband for various reasons in the last couple of years. I cannot stress enough how important it is to stay abreast of the issues facing our profession. If you are in an area with no local association, please share Division information and encourage persons to become members. It has been a privilege to have met many more of you as I have traveled the state to local functions. My thanks especially go out to Dallas, Houston, El Paso, Fort Worth and Lubbock for allowing me to spend time in your cities.

Javan Johnson,CLAS  President, 2000-2001

Editor’s Note
by Debra Crosby

Well, it looks like I drew the black bean and now have the job of following in Nancy McLaughlin’s footsteps as editor of this magazine. It is with a great deal of trepidation that I embark on this journey; I can only hope to do half the job Nancy did. For any of you who are unaware of the extent of the work that Nancy did for us, we have had to appoint three people to take her place! I will be editing the TPJ, Tamara Null will be in charge of our web site, and Brenda Stockton will be in charge of advertising. Not one person was willing or able to take on the full work load that Nancy had borne so well, for so long. She did such a tremendous job for the Division that her loss will be felt for a long time. I hope she’s out there watching over us! So for Nancy, and for all of you, my goal is for this magazine to continue to be the excellent publication it has always been. I may have some bumpy spots along the way, and I’m sure I will forget something of vital importance with every issue, so I’ll need your help! Let us hear from you, and I encourage you to submit articles you may think will be of interest to us all. If you want to help the committee, we can always use assistance, too! We are all strengthened when we take risks and, fearing failure, move forward in spite of our fear. Remember, courage is not the lack of fear, but is instead the taking of action in the face of the things we fear the most. Thanks for your support of the Division and of our profession.

Readers’ Comments

Dear Nancy McLaughlin

If I would have known you were going to leave us what would I have said to you that afternoon, what would I have done different to make sure you knew how much your friendship meant to me? I would have still poked fun at you for wearing that awful pink sweater to lunch that Thursday, I still wouldn’t have tasted that Veggie Burger. I would have still given you a hard time about wanting to be on Survivor and still believe you would have been kicked off first for being so bossy! I guess what I would have done is somehow let you know how special you were to me and to my family. I would have told you that you made me feel so special because I was your friend and I would have thanked you for picking me to be your friend. I would have thanked you for giving me the courage to get involved and to do so many of the things I never would have done if it had not been for your coaching. I was always so proud to be your friend Nanc, I just hope that I was half as good of a friend to you as you were to me! I love you and miss you.

Jo Ann Scott

Dear Editor:

Norma was kind enough to send me a copy of the latest issue of the TPJ—dedicated to Nancy McLaughlin.  I can’t tell you how pleased and impressed I was with the issue.

I am very proud of the fact that I recruited Nancy to take over as Editor of the TPJ.  She was reluctant at first; she wasn’t sure she was up to the job.  Of course, everyone told her that was ridiculous—she would be fabulous.  And, of course, we were all right!  She took the magazine and the website far beyond our plans and dreams.  I firmly believe that the best thing I ever did for the Division and the magazine was to recruit Nancy.

I was always amazed at how much energy she had and how involved and committed she was to any and all projects she took on.  So many people relied on her for so many things and she always came through.  Her friends are legion and I am proud to consider myself among them. Throughout my travels in recent years, hers was a phone number I never forgot.

Future Editors of the TPJ will have their work cut out for them in stepping in to Nancy’s shoes.  Not many of us are as dedicated as she was, but we can all continue to enjoy the fruits of that dedication.

Christine Levy, CLA

Dear Editor:

I found this edition of the TPJ to be particularly moving and a wonderful tribute to a great lady who was not only a friend, but an incredible moving force in LAD. The substantive articles presented were timely, and appropriate.  On a personal note, thanks to you Debra, for picking up the ball yet again, and running with it on behalf of LAD!  Nancy will be greatly missed, not only by those who knew her, but by LAD itself. It is my personal hope that with this edition of the TPJ, others in our organization will be encouraged to participate, share their time and talents, and thus benefit from being a part of such a wonderful organization.

You go girl!

Connie Gray, CLA

SCRUPLES

The Ethics of Giving Legal Advice
by Ellen Lockwood, CLA—Ethics Chair

We have all had it drummed into our heads that we shouldn’t give legal advice and that doing so constitutes the unauthorized practice of law, a criminal offense. However, we are probably all guilty of occasionally crossing that line, often unintentionally, in our efforts to provide clients with good service.

I recently came across a quotation that appeared to provide a good dividing line between giving legal advice and answering a client’s questions:

Never advise a client or other person on any matter if the advice may alter the legal position or legal rights of the one to whom the advice is given.¹

Although there may be times when this rule of thumb could be applied too strictly, it is an excellent way to gauge whether what you say or do could be construed as giving legal advice.

Many times clients will ask me a question to which the answer strays into giving legal advice. In those instances, I explain to the client that he will need to discuss that with the attorney, but that I will pass along his question. Often the attorney will ask me to tell the client something in particular. I then take care to tell the client that the attorney asked me to tell the client whatever the attorney said to make it clear that the information is coming from the attorney.

Sometimes when the client asks me a question, I know exactly what the attorney’s answer will be. However, I never give the client the information without checking with the attorney. I then may tell the client that the attorney said to tell him some particular information. To remind me to do that, I only have to picture the attorney on the witness stand answering questions about this particular exchange with the client. Although neither of us may remember it later, I want the attorney to be able to say that it was always my practice to consult with him and then to pass along information to the client clearly stating it is something he asked me to tell the client.

Once a client thought that the member countries of the European Community and the European Patent Organization were the same. I faxed a list of the member countries of each organization to the client and the client used those lists to determine in which countries they wanted to file patent applications. Strictly applying the rule above, something I did affected the client’s decision on where to file to protect its patent rights. However, I did not advise the client on which countries to choose, I only provided a list of member countries which is readily available on the web.

At times you may have to force your attorney to review a client’s question and the appropriate response with you. Remind your attorney that although it is flattering that he thinks so highly of you and has such confidence in your abilities that he trusts you to give the client the correct answer, you still cannot give legal advice, although you are glad to pass along his message to the client.

We are often asked by family and friends to give legal advice, or just to say what we would do in a particular situation. Even giving common sense suggestions should be avoided since others will naturally give greater weight to recommendations from someone with legal training. Keep the number for the local attorney referral service or legal aid handy, or offer to recommend an attorney. Many attorneys offer initial consultations for $100 or less.

Before you give a client, or a friend, or a family member any legal information, you should ask yourself whether what you say will directly affect that person’s decision which in turn may affect that person’s legal rights or position. The safest answer to any question is to recommend he speak with an attorney.

1 West’s Paralegal Today, 2nd Edition, Miller and Urisko

A Review of MYTexasBar.com
http://www.llrx.com/features/mytexasbar.htm
Kathy Biehl, attorney, author and member of the Texas Bar, evaluates the services and resources of this customizable legal portal that is a joint effort of FindLaw and the National Law Library.

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http://www.llrx.com/newstand/#CongressLine Links 
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