President's Message
Ellen Lockwood , CLAS, RP
Since the focus of the Division this year is ethics, I thought I would provide some information on where ethics information can be found. Although paralegals, unlike attorneys, aren’t required to attend ethics CLE each year, it is our responsibility to seek out ethics education in addition to other CLE.
If you have a specific ethics question, the Division has three great sources of answers:
- Check out the Ethics FAQs at www.txpd.org by clicking on “TXPD Home” at the top, then clicking on “Ethics FAQs” in the drop-down menu.
- Contact the Division’s Chair of the Professional Ethics Committee, Laurie Borski, at
ethics@txpd.org or 210.250.6041. She can answer your questions as well as direct you to other resources as necessary.
- Search the ethics articles in the TPJ archive. Most of the ethics articles are in the “Scruples” column. Just go to www.txpd.org, and put your cursor in the search box on the right-hand side of the page. Type in “ethics” or “scruples,” then use the drop-down menu to change the search region to
“TPJ.”
There are also many sources of ethics CLE and general information:
- Division CLE offerings, including TAPS and District CLE
- Online CLE through the Division’s website
- Local paralegal association CLE
- Local bar association CLE events
- Ethics opinions and articles in the Texas Bar Journal
- The Division’s Code of Ethics (go to www.txpd.org, click on “TXPD Home” at the top, then “Professional Ethics in the drop-down menu)
- Ethics information at www.nala.org and www.paralegals.org
While there is no shame in not knowing the answer to an ethics question, there is no excuse for not finding out the correct answer. You should also not assume your attorney knows the correct answer. Too often attorneys ask paralegals to do things paralegals are prohibited from doing.
If you cannot locate the answer immediately, here are a few guidelines you could use to try to determine the correct course of action:
If the action requires you to act in a manner that would be representing the client such as signing a pleading (even by permission), then you should not do it as it is likely prohibited. Remember
you do not represent the client, your attorney does.
If there is no rule that specifically allows a paralegal to do something, particularly something that would be considered representing the client, you would be safer not to do it.
A general guideline is not to tell a client anything that would affect a client’s course of action. Always ask your attorney if you may provide information that could be considered legal advice and be sure to pass along the information as being from the attorney.
If in doubt, don’t. It is never wrong not to do something.
As paralegals, we must be familiar with our code of ethics as well as attorney ethics requirements. As members of the Paralegal Division, we should work hard to serve as ethical examples and to help educate our attorneys regarding paralegal ethics.
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