Substantive Law Study Support

CASE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS WITH RESPONSES, page 16

1. What court decided this case?
Supreme Court of New Jersey

2. Who were the petitioners in this case?
Several independent paralegals

3. What were the petitioners asking the court to do?
To overturn the Advisory Opinion that independent paralegals are engaged in the unauthorized practice of law

4. What was the legal issue the court was being asked to decide?
Whether “independent paralegals … are performing legal services without adequate attorney supervision.”

5. What does the court cite as the underlying justification for using paralegals?
The use of paralegals helps to decrease the cost of legal services, while maintaining the quality of service.

6. What is the difference between an “independent paralegal” and a paralegal who is an employee of a law firm?
Independent paralegals are considered temporary employees and are not fully employed by a specific attorney or law firm.

7. Why did the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law consider important the distinction between independent paralegals and paralegals who are employees of law firms important?
The Committee believed that independent paralegals were not fully or adequately supervised, as are paralegals employed full time by an attorney or law firm.

8. What are the primary reasons for using independent paralegals?
The primary reason is that sole practitioners or small law firms unable to hire a full-time paralegal would still have access to their services when required.

9. What constitutes “the practice of law”?
“No satisfactory, all-inclusive definition of what constitutes the practice of law has ever been devised. . . The Court decides what constitutes the practice of law on a case-by-case basis.”

10. Do paralegals who are supervised by attorneys engage in the unauthorized practice of law? Why or why not?
No, as long as the attorneys “maintain direct relationships with their clients, supervise the paralegal’s work and remain responsible for the work product.”

11. What official action did the New Jersey Supreme Court take?
The Court overturned the conclusions by the committee that Independent Paralegals were not adequately supervised and declared that no rational basis existed for treating employed and independent paralegals differently.