LSTD 210 (Final Exam)

Please review the attached. The attached will give you three questions that need to be answered. The questions are in "bold" print and below the questions, are responses from other students. Please use the responses as guidelines an guidelines only. I do not want to be accused of plagiarism. Also, there are teacher comments to help you out. Let me know if you have further questions. Question 1 Do law firms need to advertise? When can potential clients be contacted and what is the rationale behind the law governing it? Response 1: The law firms should not advertise. The debate on whether or not law firms should advertise has elicited mixed reactions in the U.S., which has since led to restrictions on law firms’ advertising. Although the restrictions caused uproar among the big corporate law firms, any form of advertisement for lawyers and their firms may cause a misinterpretation of the lawyer’s services, which is the primary role of retaining the law firm. For example, in the case in which Public Citizen represents Alexander and Catalano to challenge the rules restricting the advertisement of law firms, the firm is involved in the advertisement campaign that depicts it as the giant of all firms . Lawyers and their firms should operate within the regulations and conduct themselves within the standards of bona fide professional ratings. It is irrefutable that a law firm or lawyer cannot operate without clients, and retaining such clients is crucial to the sustainability of the practice. However, the lawyer cannot contact the potential client or clients directly. Instead, they can contact the clients through a group legal service plan. Such service plans are usually operated by an organization, which is not under the leadership of the lawyer in question. RPC Rule 7.3 regarding direct contact with potential clients stipulates rules that guide solicitation of clients. For example, under this rule, a lawyer is not allowed to engage in real electronic contact or live telephone conversation with the potential client. Furthermore, the rule states that a lawyer cannot solicit professional employment in whichever way. In this case, they should not engage in any form of advertisement unless it is what is considered as an acceptable advertising. Donovan Karen, New York Law Firms Struggle with New Restrictions on Advertisement, New York Times, February 27, 2015. Filisko, GM, The Ethics of Online Advertising, American Bar Association, 47, 7 (2013). RPC Rule 7.3: Direct Contact with Prospective Clients. Teacher Comment: Very good answer! Question 2 Describe the "duty of integrity" and its purpose. Explain if it is permissible to merely threaten to report misconduct. Why or why not? Response 2: As legal professionals, paralegals and lawyers have a duty of integrity. Cannon 6 of the NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility states that a paralegal must endeavor to uphold integrity and a high extent of aptitude by means of education and training regarding professional accountability, local regulations and procedure, and ongoing education in actual legal disciplines to better aid the legal profession in satisfying its obligation to offer legal service. In the preamble of the NFPA Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Guidelines for Enforcement, policy implementation of paralegal behavior is a rational and required step to improve and guarantee the public and legal community’s belief in paralegals’ integrity and professional accountability. According Rule 8.2(a) of the ABA Moral Rules of Professional Conduct, an attorney ought not state that he or she understands to be fabricated or with irresponsible contempt as to its certainty or deceptiveness regarding the abilities of a judge, adjudicatory or public legal officer, or a nominee for selection or appointment to judicial or legal office. Due to a duty of integrity, it is impermissible to threaten to report misconduct. EC-1.2(f) of the NFPA Model Code states that a paralegal ought to inform the appropriate authority of unrestricted information of any insincere or deceptive acts by any individual relating to the management of a client’s funds, securities, or other assets. The paralegal must make a report depending on the potential misconduct’s nature and conditions. If he or she does not report such information, the paralegal is committing misconduct and ought to be as stated by these rules. EC-1.3(d) is similar to EC-1.2(f), but it applies to any action of another legal professional that obviously shows fraud, deceit, untruthfulness, and falsification. ABA Rule 8.3(a) states that an attorney who is aware of another lawyer committing a breach of the Rules of Professional Conduct that brings up a considerable question as to that attorney’s truthfulness, reliability, or suitability as an attorney also, ought to notify the proper professional authority. In addition, according to ABA Rule 8.3(b), an attorney who is aware of a judge committing a breach of valid regulations of judicial behavior that brings up a considerable question as to the judge’s suitability for office ought to notify the proper authority. NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, National Association of Legal Assistants (Feb. 25, 2015, 10:34 p.m.), http://www.nala.org/code.aspx. Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Guidelines for Enforcement, National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (Feb. 26, 2015, 9:22 p.m.).http://www.paralegals.org/Associations/2270/files/modelcode.html. Rule 8.2: Judicial and Legal Officials, American Bar Association (Feb. 25, 2015, 10:35 p.m.), http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_8_2_judicial_legal_officials.html. Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Guidelines of Enforcement, National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (Feb. 26, 2015, 9:22 p.m.), http://www.paralegals.org/Associations/2270/files/modelcode.html. Rule 8.3: Reporting Professional Misconduct, American Bar Association (Feb. 25, 2015, 10:35 p.m.), http://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_8_3_reporting_professional_misconduct.html. Feedback: Chapter 9 Comment: Good answer! Question 3 What makes a claim frivolous? Give an example of a frivolous claim, and explain what some possible penalties are in detail. Remember to use proper Bluebook citation format and answer each part of the question. Response 3 The term alludes to a claim spurred by a goal simply to pester, defer, or humiliate the restriction. To be discovered paltrily, the case must have no doubtful premise in law or actuality. Trivial acts can incorporate recording the claim, a movement for a court action on a claim, an answer of a respondent to an objection, challenge, demonstrates or opposes anything, or an advance, which is with no substantial supporting contentions (US Legal). Given are three examples. 1. In 1992, Stella Liebeck purchased an espresso from a McDonald's drive through. Somehow, inescapably the espresso spilt in her lap. She sued McDonald's for carelessness. She asserted the espresso was so hot that it would have been impossible to manage. Extraordinarily the jury found that McDonald's was in charge of the occurrence, and they granted Liebeck compensatory harms (Aue). 2. Christopher Roller sued David Blaine and David Copperfield for they uncovering their mystery enchantment traps to him. He requested 10% of their aggregate salary forever. The purpose is that Roller accepts that the entertainers are resisting the laws of material science. Roller is suing because he supposes he is God (Aue). 3. A detainee in Virginia in 1995 wished to be expelled from jail and set in a mental organization. He chose to sue himself. He guaranteed that his wrongdoing was conferred while he was smashed, which was an infringement of his religious convictions. He asserted that he had disregarded his particular ordinary freedoms. He sued himself for $5 million, however, to aggravate matters; he argued that the state ought to pay as he was in a correctional facility and without a salary (Aue). A judge may grant approvals for such a claim. Such endorses may incorporate recompensing the rival expenses, lawyer charges, and in no less than one case, the attorney was requested to go to graduate school courses. The grant of authorizations may be made by the court by an alternate gathering (Kasperowicz). Mathew Aue, Top 10 Bizarre or Frivolous Lawsuits. List Verse (Feb, 26, 2015, 6:00 p.m.), http://listverse.com/2009/01/28/top-10-bizarre-or-frivolous-lawsuits/ Pete Kasperowicz, House approves automatic fines for filing frivolous lawsuits. The Hill (Feb, 26, 2015, 6:00 p.m.), http://thehill.com/blogs/floor action/votes/190310-house-approves-automatic-fines-for-filing-frivolous-lawsuits US Legal, Frivolous Claims Law & Legal Definition. US Legal (Feb, 26, 2015, 6:00 p.m.), http://definitions.uslegal.com/f/frivolous-claims/ Teacher Comment: Good answer - although I disagree about the McDonald's lawsuit. :-)