Kansas Paralegal Association's Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility

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1 Kansas Paralegal Assciatin's Cde f Ethics and Prfessinal Respnsibility PREAMBLE: Kansas Paralegal Assciatin ("KPA") is a prfessinal rganizatin frmed t: (1) prmte and maintain high standards in the Paralegal prfessin; (2) fster creative expansin f the Paralegal career; (3) ffer and encurage cntinuing educatin fr the Paralegal; (4) prvide a frum fr meeting and exchanging ideas; and (5) establish and maintain mutually beneficial wrking relatinships with lcal and state bar assciatins. KPA recgnizes that the creatin f guidelines and standards fr prfessinal cnduct are imprtant fr the develpment and expansin f the paralegal prfessin. KPA' Cde f Ethics and Prfessinal Respnsibility ("Cde f Ethics") expresses cmmitment t increasing the quality and efficiency f legal services and recgnizes the prfessin's respnsibilities t the public, the legal cmmunity, and clleagues. KPA feels it is essential that each paralegal strive fr persnal and prfessinal excellence and encurage the prfessinal develpment f ther paralegals as well as thse entering the prfessin. Participatin in prfessinal assciatins intended t advance the quality and standards f the legal prfessin is f particular imprtance. Paralegals shuld pssess integrity, prfessinal skill and dedicatin t the imprvement f the legal system and shuld strive t expand the paralegal rle in the delivery f legal services. CANON 1 A PARALEGAL SHALL ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF COMPETENCE. EC-1.1 A paralegal shall achieve cmpetency thrugh educatin, training, and wrk experience. EC-1.2 A paralegal shall participate in cntinuing educatin t keep infrmed f current legal, technical and general develpments. EC-1.3 A paralegal shall perfrm all assignments prmptly and efficiently. 1

2 CANON 2 A PARALEGAL SHALL MAINTAIN A HIGH LEVEL OF PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY. EC-2.1 A paralegal shall nt engage in any ex parte 2 cmmunicatins invlving the curts r any ther adjudicatry bdy in an attempt t exert undue influence r t btain advantage fr the benefit f nly ne party. EC-2.2 A paralegal shall nt cmmunicate, r cause anther t cmmunicate, with a party the paralegal knws t be represented by a lawyer in a pending matter withut the prir cnsent f the lawyer representing such ther party. EC-2.3 A paralegal shall ensure that all time-keeping and billing recrds prepared by the paralegal are thrugh, accurate, and hnest. EC-2.4 A paralegal shall be scrupulus, thrugh and hnest in the identificatin and maintenance f all funds, securities, and ther assets f a client and shall prvide accurate accunting as apprpriate. EC-2.5 A paralegal shall advise the prper authrity f any dishnest r fraudulent acts by any persn pertaining t the handling f the funds, securities r ther assets f a client. CANON 3 A PARALEGAL SHALL MAINTAIN A HIGH STANDARD OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT. EC-3.1 A paralegal shall refrain frm engaging in any cnduct that ffends the dignity and decrum f prceedings befre a curt r ther adjudicatry bdy and shall be respectful f all rules and prcedures. EC-3.2 A paralegal shall advise the prper authrity f any actin f anther legal prfessinal which clearly demnstrates fraud, deceit, dishnesty, r misrepresentatin. EC-3.3 A paralegal shall avid imprpriety and the appearance f imprpriety. 2

3 CANON 4 A PARALEGAL SHALL SERVE THE PUBLIC INTEREST BY CONTRIBUTING TO THE DELIVERY OF QUALITY LEGAL SERVICES AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM. EC-4.1 A paralegal shall be sensitive t the legal needs f the public and shall prmte the develpment and implementatin f prgrams that address thse needs. EC-4.2 A paralegal shall supprt bnafide effrts t meet the need fr legal services by thse unable t pay reasnable r custmary fees; fr example, participatin in pr bn prjects and vlunteer wrk. EC-4.3 A paralegal shall supprt effrts t imprve the legal system and shall assist in making changes. CANON 5 A PARALEGAL SHALL PRESERVE ALL CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 4 PROVIDED BY THE CLIENT OR ACQUIRED FROM OTHER SOURCES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE COURSE OF THE PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP. EC-5.1 A paralegal shall be aware f and abide by all legal authrity gverning cnfidential infrmatin. EC-5.2 client. A paralegal shall nt use cnfidential infrmatin t the disadvantage f the EC-5.3 A paralegal shall nt use cnfidential infrmatin t the advantage f the paralegal r f a third persn. EC-5.4 A paralegal may reveal cnfidential infrmatin nly after full disclsure and with the client's written cnsent; r, when required by law r curt rder; r, when necessary t prevent the client frm cmmitting an act which culd result in death r serius bdily harm. EC-5.5 A paralegal shall keep thse individuals respnsible fr the legal representatin f a client fully infrmed f any cnfidential infrmatin the paralegal may have pertaining t that client. EC-5.6 clients. A paralegal shall nt engage in any indiscreet cmmunicatins cncerning 3

4 CANON 6 A PARALEGAL'S TITLE SHALL BE FULLY DISCLOSED. 4 EC-6.1 A paralegal's title shall clearly indicate the individual's status and shall be disclsed in all business and prfessinal cmmunicatins t avid misunderstanding and miscnceptins abut the paralegal's rle and respnsibilities. EC-6.2 A paralegal's title shall be included if the paralegal's name appears n business cards, letterhead, brchures, directries, and advertisements. CANON 7 A PARALEGAL SHALL NOT ENGAGE IN THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW. EC-7.1 A paralegal shall cmply with the applicable legal authrity gverning the unauthrized practice f law. CANON 8 A PARALEGAL SHALL ACT WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE LAW, SOLELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CLIENT, AND SHALL BE FREE OF COMPROMISING INFLUENCES AND LOYALTIES. NEITHER THE PARALEGAL'S PERSONAL OR BUSINESS INTEREST, NOR THOSE OF OTHER CLIENTS OR THIRD PERSONS, SHOULD COMPROMISE THE PARALEGAL'S PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT AND LOYALTY TO THE CLIENT. EC-8.2 A paralegal shall avid cnflicts f interest which may arise frm previus assignments whether fr a present r past emplyer r client. EC-8.3 A paralegal shall avid cnflicts f interest which may arise frm family relatinships and frm persnal and business interests. EC-8.4 A paralegal shall create and maintain an effective recrd keeping system that identifies clients, matters, and parties with which the paralegal has wrked, t be able t determine whether an actual r ptential cnflict f interest exists. EC-8.5 A paralegal shall reveal sufficient nn-cnfidential infrmatin abut a client r frmer client t reasnably ascertain if an actual r ptential cnflict f interest exists. 4

5 EC-8.6 A paralegal shall nt participate in r cnduct wrk n any matter where a cnflict f interest has been identified. EC-8.7 In matters where a cnflict f interest has been identified and the client cnsents t cntinued representatin, a paralegal shall cmply fully with the implementatin and maintenance f an Ethical Wall. 5 Endntes: 1. "Paralegal" is synnymus with "Legal Assistant" and is defined as a persn, qualified thrugh educatin, training, r wrk experience, wh is emplyed r retained by a lawyer, law ffice, gvernmental agency, r ther entity in a capacity r functin which invlves the perfrmance, under the ultimate directin and supervisin f any attrney, f specifically delegated substantive legal wrk, which wrk, fr the mst part, requires a sufficient knwledge f legal cncepts that, absent such assistant, the attrney wuld perfrm the task. 2. "Ex parte" dentes actins r cmmunicatins cnducted at the instance and fr the benefit f ne party nly, and withut ntice t r cntestatin by, any persn adversely interested. 3. "Cnfidential infrmatin" dentes infrmatin relating t a client, whatever its surce, which is nt public knwledge nr available t the public. ("Nn-Cnfidential Infrmatin" wuld generally include the name f the client and the identity f the matter fr which the paralegal prvided services.) 4. "Disclse" dentes cmmunicatins f infrmatin reasnably sufficient t permit identificatin f the significance f the matter in questin. 5. "Ethical Wall" refers t the screening methd implemented in rder t prtect a client frm a cnflict f interest. An Ethical Wall generally includes, but is nt limited t, the fllwing elements: prhibit the paralegal frm having any cnnectin with the matter; ban discussin with r the transfer f dcuments t r frm the paralegal; restrict access t files; and educate all members f the firm, crpratin r entity as t the separatin f the paralegal (bth rganizatinally and physically) frm the pending matter. Fr mre infrmatin regarding the Ethical Wall, see the Natinal Federatin f Paralegal Assciatins publicatin entitled "The Ethical Wall - Its Applicatin t Paralegals." KPA is affiliated with and is a member rganizatin in the Natinal Federatin f Paralegal Assciatins (NFPA). KPA' Cde f Ethics and Prfessinal Respnsibility is parallel t NFPA's Mdel Cde f Ethics and Prfessinal Respnsibility. 5