Kaplan University - Adjunct Professor Brian Tippens, J.D. - [email protected], October 20, 2015 1 Preview Unit 8 Unit Seven Preview Unit Six Review

Kaplan University - Adjunct Professor Brian Tippens, J.D. - [email protected] Thursday, April 20, 2023

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Preview Unit 8

Unit Seven Preview

Unit Six Review

Legal Ethics – Unit Seven

Fair Fees and Client Trusts


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Unit Six Review

Lawyer advertising has had an interesting and complex history, going back to previous centuries in England. The young men who arrived in London to study law were from well-to-do families; law was considered an upper-class profession.

Advertising was, at that time in history, relegated to the “lower class”—the tradesmen who needed to "drum up" business. Although the American colonies wanted to abolish the notion of class distinctions, lawyer advertising was still considered improper.

In 1969, the American Bar Association recommended that all forms of lawyer advertising and solicitation be banned.


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Unit Six Review

It wasn’t until the landmark Supreme Court case of Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), that lawyer advertising was declared to be protected commercial speech under the First Amendment.

In the years since the Bates v. State Bar of Arizona case was decided, there has been a significant increase in lawyer advertising. Each state has its own ethical rules regulating attorney advertising and the solicitation of prospective clients.


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Unit Six Review

This unit surveys the history of regulation of lawyer advertising and the limitations on advertising that exist today. By the end of this unit, you will:

• Be able to differentiate between advertising and solicitation; • Be able to identify the ethical limitations on advertising; • Be able to describe how to avoid situations that may be

considered solicitation; • Understand how the restrictions and limitations on

advertising and solicitation affect paralegals.


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Unit Six Review

Review Questions:

Advertising for lawyers :

a) is illegal in most states.b) is illegal unless permission is obtained from the state bar

in advance.c) was illegal before Bates & O’Steen v. Arizona.d) is a right protected by the First Amendment.e) both c and d above.


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Unit Six Review

Review Questions:

Lawyer solicitation of clients

a) may be permitted when the motivation is informing the public of their rights.

b) is not permitted when the motivation is profit.c) is typically in person and pressure driven.d) may be targeted at a particularly vulnerable person or

group.e) all of the above.


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Unit Six Review

Review Questions:

Direct mail advertising:

a) is used to contact people whose homes are facing foreclosure.

b) is illegal in most states.c) can be viewed as a good way of informing the public of

legal rights.d) is usually determined to be improper solicitation.e) is an old-fashioned way to contact prospective problems

but is seldom used modernly.


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Unit Six Review

Review Questions:

Paralegals:

a)may advertise their services to lawyers and law firms.b)may be listed with other legal professionals in the Martindale Hubbell directory.c)may not use solicitation in all situations when lawyers may not.d)should not offer legal services to clients.e)All of the above are true statements.


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Preview Unit 7

Unit Seven discusses Fair Fees and Client Trusts. This unit provides the student with an understanding of one of the most common ethical violations in the legal profession: mishandling of clients' money. Legal assistants play a large role in financial matters, from billing clients to maintaining client trust funds. It is therefore essential for students who plan to be legal assistants to have a complete understanding of attorney fees, ethical billing practices, and the duties required in handling client funds

Assignments:

•Read about the various types of fee arrangements available to attorneys and their clients: Chapter 6 - Ethics for the Legal Professional

•Practice by using the web links in this unit

•Discuss what you have learned

•Meet at the weekly seminar to explore this unit’s concepts

•Take a short Quiz


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Preview Unit 7

In Unit Seven we learn:

•How Do We Begin the Relationship with a Client?•What Are the Different Types of Fee Agreements?

Contingency Fees Hourly Billing Other Billing Methods

•What Should Be in the Fee Agreement?•What Should Not Be in the Fee Agreement?•What Is a Retainer?•How Does a Client Trust Account Work?•How Does a Law Firm Get Paid?•How Do We Get Fees from the Other Side in Litigation?•Are Paralegal Fees Awardable?•What Is an Inappropriate Fee?


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Preview Units 8 - 10

Unit Eight discusses Competence and Negligence. This unit will help prepare you to handle potential advocacy issues you may encounter working as legal assistants in litigation settings. Legal assistants play a major role in litigation; therefore, legal assistants must have a strong understanding of the ethics rules governing advocacy.

Assignments:

• Read about miscellaneous ethics issues, including competence, negligence, truthfulness, and non-lawyer malpractice:• Chapter 7-Ethics for the Legal Professional

• Practice by using the web links in this unit • Discuss what you have learned • Meet at the weekly seminar to further explore the concepts in this unit • Submit the written assignment for this unit • Take a short Quiz


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Adjourn

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Documents

Kaplan University - Adjunct Professor Brian Tippens, J.D. - [email protected], October 20, 2015 1 Preview Unit 8 Unit Seven Preview Unit Six Review