Introduction
Paralegals perform a rather significant role in the legal sphere. Even though they are non-lawyers, these individuals are responsible for multiple important activities. In particular, paralegals deal with case planning and development, interviewing clients, legal research, and other tasks that assist lawyers. That is why it is not surprising that various ethical issues refer to these professionals’ performance. When paralegals deal with legal document production, they should draw attention to client confidentiality, report conflicts of interest, and subject their materials to approval by lawyers.
Discussion
The appropriate role of the paralegal in legal document production is subject to a few ethical issues. Firstly, these professionals should ensure that their activities do not challenge client confidentiality (Goodson, 2020). Paralegals work with clients’ confidential information, and their task is to approach it carefully and cover it in legal documents appropriately. Secondly, the professionals under consideration should be aware of a potential conflict of interest (Goodson, 2020). A suitable example refers to the fact that a paralegal should ensure that their personal thoughts and preferences are not a part of legal documents. Finally, a significant legal issue implies that lawyers should review and approve any materials that paralegals draft. The rationale behind this statement is that paralegals’ experience is insufficient to ensure that documents are free from mistakes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the paper has demonstrated that paralegals occupy an essential role in the legal sphere. These professionals provide lawyers with assistance since they deal with various tasks, and document production is one of them. During this activity, paralegals can face client confidentiality, conflict of interest, and approval by lawyers. This information denotes that these professionals should draw attention to these issues to achieve high practice standards.
Reference
Goodson, D. (2020). 4 common ethics issues paralegals face. USF Corporate Training and Professional Education Blog. Web.