paralegal for a sole practitioner

Details of complete assignment content, deliverables and rubric

Imagine that you have been working as a paralegal for a sole practitioner for several years. Your supervising attorney has decided to create a website for the firm and would like you to research the ethical rules about what is permissible to include in the website. Your attorney has the following specific questions:

1. Does the website have to list the state where s/he is licensed to practice?
2. Can the attorney list a legal specialty on the webpage? If so, are there specific rules that have to be followed? Is the attorney allowed to state that s/he is a certified personal injury litigator?
3. Is it permissible for the attorney to list famous clients or well-known cases s/he has worked on?
4. The attorney would like to pay a former client, Susan Turner, for a quote about how well she was represented in a personal injury lawsuit. Is this permissible?
5. The attorney would like to include a link in the website for web surfers to “chat with an attorney.” You, the paralegal, may be required to respond to chat, calls, or instant messages if the attorney is out of the office. Is this permitted by the rules?

Review the ABA Model rules and comments concerning advertising and websites at this link:

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct.html

(See especially Rule 7.1 et seq.)

You may also find useful information at this link:

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/departments_offices/legal_technology_resources/resources/charts_fyis/websitefyi.html

Cite and apply the rules to reach your conclusion as to whether or not each proposed item is permitted by the rules. Be sure to include an explanation – do not simply quote the rule, but explain why the rule does or does not allow each proposal.

You may use the following format for your memo to the attorney:

To: Supervising Attorney

From: Pat Paralegal

Re: Security Protocols in the Law Office

Date: xx-xx-xxxx

Submit your Assignment to the Dropbox by the end of Unit 2.

APA

514 words