Don’t pad your time sheets. “Padding” time sheets is to increase the number of hours a paralegal or attorney claims to have worked on a matter billed to the client. It is a very serious and real problem for attorneys, paralegals, and for the clients of those who engage in this practice.
How many billable hours should a paralegal have?
Depending on the firm, a paralegal may be expected to generate between 800 and 2,000 billable hours per year. For paralegals close to the 1,800/2,000 billable hours per year threshold, and allowing for vacation time and holidays, this equates to at least 37 billable hours per work week.
What is the ethical obligation of a paralegal to the court?
A PARALEGAL SHALL MAINTAIN A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT. EC-1.3 (a) A paralegal shall refrain from engaging in any conduct that offends the dignity and decorum of proceedings before a court or other adjudicatory body and shall be respectful of all rules and procedures.
Do ethical rules apply to paralegals?
A paralegal must adhere strictly to the accepted standards of legal ethics and to the general principles of proper conduct. The performance of the duties of the paralegal shall be governed by specific canons as defined herein so that justice will be served and goals of the profession attained.
How does a paralegal bill time?
According to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, “purely clerical or secretarial tasks should not be billed to the client at a paralegal rate, no matter who performs them.” For the most part, courts around the country have ruled that clerical tasks like typing, organizing files, searching PACER and eFiling documents …
Do paralegals bill?
How do paralegals bill their time? Paralegals can bill for their substantive legal work similarly to attorneys, but typically at lower hourly rates than lawyers. In fact, most paralegals bill hourly and directly to clients. Paralegals billing hourly must know how to log portions of hours worked accurately.
How can a paralegal bill more hours?
You can measure this by dividing hours billed into hours worked (not paid hours, just worked hours). In other words, if a paralegal left a couple of hours early for a doctor’s appointment, they might only work 6 hours, but they use 2 hours of PTO and are paid for 8 hours that day.
Who is responsible if a paralegal is unethical?
According to Guideline 1 of the ABA Model Guidelines for the Utilization of Paralegal Services, “a lawyer is responsible for all of the professional activities of a paralegal performing services at the lawyer’s direction and should take reasonable measures to ensure that the paralegal’s conduct is consistent with the …
What are the three ethical issues of which paralegals must be particularly aware?
These are requirements of Competence, Diligence, and Professional Integrity, requirements of Client Confidentiality, rules concerning Conflicts of Interest, responsibilities of supervisory lawyers’ regarding nonlawyer assistants; and prohibitions concerning the Unauthorized Practice of Law.
How do you report an unethical paralegal?
Complaint forms
For questions, call the State Bar’s multilingual complaint hotline at 800-843-9053. The State Bar works with other law enforcement agencies to investigate when someone violates the law.
What can a paralegal do and not do?
Paralegals must avoid the unauthorized practice of law. Generally, paralegals may not represent clients in court, take depositions, or sign pleadings. Some federal and state administrative agencies, however, do permit nonlawyer practice. See, for example, Social Security Administration.
What if a paralegal makes a mistake?
All errors should be reported to the supervising attorney. The worst thing you can do is try to cover up a mistake. Regardless of how serious the error is, you are more likely to be written up or fired if you try to cover up the error or fix it yourself.
Can paralegals practice law?
Can a paralegal practice law? Put simply: No. Paralegals may have significant legal knowledge, but they aren’t licensed to work as attorneys—so they cannot practice law. As such, to avoid the unauthorized practice of law, a paralegal should not work without the supervision of a lawyer.