Civil Rights
Block on Trump's Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court
At a time when digital assistants can talk, it's still a good idea to have a real-live person talk to clients.
Unfortunately, too many lawyers do not communicate enough with their clients. The "too much work, not enough time" excuse only goes so far -- especially with the State Bar.
Try this instead: Say "hello" to your paralegals and let them do the talking. Training them to communicate with clients could start here.
Paralegals can talk to clients about many things. From hand-holding to substantive matters, it's about professional interaction. Here are a few pointers:
They can relay information from a lawyer, too. For example, a paralegal can tell a client what a lawyer will do in a deposition, hearing or trial.
But paralegals cannot give legal advice. That would be practicing law without a license. Here are some examples:
The nutshell is, paralegals should not tell clients what to do about the law. Legal procedures, like meeting deadlines for responses, yes; legal analysis, no.
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