Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Study of Law and the Legal Profession

The Law

• Provides guidelines on how people should interact
• Provides a mechanism for resolving conflicts

Lawyer’s Role

• Advise people to live within the requirements of the law
• Help people solve legal problems
• Rely on paralegals to help perform legal research, draft legal documents, and prepare information for trial

Conduct of Legal Analysis

Four Steps of Legal Analysis

• Analyze the facts
• Identify the legal rule
• Apply the legal rules to the facts
• Report the results

Analyze the Facts

• Establish a complete understanding of all the relevant facts.

Identify Appropriate Rule 

• Locate and summarize the relevant statutes and cases needed to properly interpret the current status of the law.

Point of Law

• A lawyer or paralegal locates the relevant law through the process of legal research.

Legal Reasoning

• The application of legal rules to a client’s specific factual situation.
• Also known as legal analysis.

Analysis Dictates Action

• Lawyer may settle the case or
• Litigate or
• Help the client avoid future litigation.

Reporting the Results

• Throughout the legal process, attorneys and paralegals are required to commit their thoughts to writing.
• At some points they will take informal, working notes for their own use.
• At other times they will make more formal reports that are designed to be read by colleagues, clients, opposing attorneys, or judges.

Legal Writing

• Examples of legal writing include:
  • Case briefs
  • Law office memoranda
  • Documents filed with the court

     
Taking Actions on Behalf of the Client

• After an attorney has thoroughly analyzed the application of the law to the client’s situation and has advised the client as to the options available under the law, the attorney and client may agree to take some action on the client’s behalf.

Taking Actions on Behalf of the Client

• These actions might include:
  • Drafting a letter demanding that certain action be taken
  • Initiating a lawsuit
  • Defending against a lawsuit
  • Helping a client avoid future litigation through careful planning

Chapter 1 Answers

• What is the definition of a paralegal?
  • A paralegal is an individual who is trained by virtue of his education to assist in the fact-gathering process by conducting interviews, summarizing those interviews, and reading and summarizing relevant documents.  A paralegal may also perform other tasks that may be assigned to him by an attorney who supervises him. 
• What is a freelance paralegal?
  • Freelance paralegals perform the functions similar to a paralegal that is working for a firm.  However, the difference is that a freelance paralegal does not have an employer-employee relationship with the firm.
• How do document preparers LLLTs, and lay advocates differ from paralegal
  • Similar to a paralegal, a document preparer is not a lawyer.  A Limited License Legal Technician or a legal technician is also not a lawyer.  While a paralegal’s work can be considered comprehensive in the sense that the perform diverse functions which include conduct of interviews and summarizing of relevant documents, a document preparer is exclusively focused on preparing legal documents.  Compared to a paralegal who is not authorized to render opinions or advise to a client, a legal technician is licensed by a state Supreme Court to assist people with cases of divorce, child custody or family law. 
  • Lay advocates are individuals who provide assistance to an individual who is in need of legal representation.  Similar to the document preparers, and legal technicians, they are not lawyers who are competent to render advise or represent clients in court.  However, they can assist individuals in the preparation of the documents needed in filing of a case in court.
• What are the requirements for becoming an attorney?
  • To be licensed to practice as an attorney, an individual needs to have completed his Bachelor’s Degree and Juris Doctor degree.  Most importantly, he needs to pass the state bar examination.
• What are the requirements for becoming a paralegal?
  • To serve as a paralegal, an individual must complete a four-year bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies.  He does not need to complete a Juris Doctor degree or to pass the bar examination in the state.
• When did formal paralegal education begin?
  • Though the American Bar Association endorsed the term paralegal in the 1967, formal paralegal training programs started only in the 1970s.  It was only in 1974 when guidelines for paralegal curriculum was adopted. 
• What role does ABA play in paralegal education?
  • The American Bar Association plays an important role in paralegal education.  Since paralegals are supposed to assist lawyers in the delivery of legal services, the ABA sets guidelines to ensure that the paralegals are ready and qualified to perform the functions that are entrusted to them.
• What are the names of two major paralegal association?
  • The two major paralegal associations are: The National Federation of Paralegal Association and the National Association of Legal Assistants.
• What is involved in the process of registration?
  • Professional certification and registration are essential to ensure that a paralegal is duly qualified to perform the function of a paralegal.  An examination is taken before a paralegal is registered as such. Moreover, there is a continuing legal education involved to ensure that the paralegal is kept up to date with the latest jurisprudence.
• What are the major differences between certification and licensure?
  • Certification is a voluntary process done by two national organizations and four state organization to recognize an individual who has met qualifications to engage in the functions of a paralegal.  On the other hand, licensure is a government action to recognize an individual as paralegal. 
• Who has the right to use the title Certified Legal Assistant
  • A Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) is a paralegal who has been certified by a national organization to perform the function of a paralegal.  It presupposes that an individual has passed a certified examination. 
• What are the three ethical issues of which a paralegal must be aware?
  • Similar to any other functions, a paralegal often encounters ethical issues in the performance of his functions.  First, a paralegal should remember that he cannot offer legal advice to an individual otherwise he may place the client in jeopardy.  Second, a paralegal should remember that any information he may learn in the course of the performance of his duties must be kept in strict confidentiality.  Third, a paralegal should be careful in avoiding conflicts of interest in the performance of his functions.  Thus, he cannot use information he may have obtained for his own profit.
• Why does the study of law involve more than simply memorizing rules?
  • The study of law is more than a simple memorization of existing rules or laws.  A lawyer needs to be able to understand the facts, identify the appropriate rules to the facts, and apply the law to the facts.  Thus, there is more to being a lawyer than just rote memorization of the rules and laws.
• What is legal reasoning?
  • Legal reasoning is one of the hardest facets of lawyering.  It involves the application of the legal rules to the existing facts (Currier and Eimermann 7).  A lawyer’s job is to use prior court decisions as support for his argument.  He has to convince the court that there has been prior decisions based on similar facts. 
• Why is it important to know whether your client’s facts are analogous to or distinguishable from those in prior court decisions?
  • If a client’s facts are analogous to a prior case which the court has decided, then the lawyer can use the same case in support of his own arguments (Currier and Eimermann 7). He can convince the court that it should decide in his favor based on the prior decision of the court. 
• Why does the law change? Should it?
  • Laws keep on changing because it deals with the people’s problems and the society.   Since the people’s problems and the society continue to evolve these laws should evolve as well to meet the changing needs of the people.  Thus, what is illegal today might be considered legal tomorrow. In the same manner, what is legal today may not be legal the next day. 
• Why is there no one “right” answer to a legal problem?
  • Lawyers are advocates for their clients.  They devise arguments in support of their client’s case.  It is up to the judge to decide a case which one of the arguments is correct (Currier and Eimermann 7).  In fact, even the judge’s decision is subject to review by a higher court.  Thus, a legal problem can be seen from different points of view which can all be considered as “right.”
• What are the basic tasks that all paralegals perform?
  • In general, a paralegal assists lawyers in the delivery of legal services. Some of the basic tasks are: conducting interviews of clients; summarizing interviews, summarizing relevant documents and such other functions that may be assigned from time to time.
• Should it be the attorney or the paralegal who signs a client letter that analyzes the law? Why?
  • A paralegal should never sign a client letter that involves the application of a law to the client’s case because it involves lawyering functions.  Only a lawyer is legally allowed to render advise to a client and send letters informing the client of the law applicable to his case.