DESCRIPTION
Lawyer Ethics of Using Paralegals
Effective delegation elevates service, but ethics rules set clear guardrails. Learn how to supervise work, protect confidentiality, and prevent unauthorized practice. We provide workflows and billing practices that withstand client and court review.
-
Implement Model Rule 5.3 supervision with practical checklists.
-
Safeguard client data in shared drives and remote settings.
-
Describe and bill paralegal time with clarity and accuracy.
-
Set boundaries on client communications and court appearances.
Speaker:
Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections. For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation. Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Disclaimer: All views or opinions expressed by any presenter during the course of this CLE is that of the presenter alone and not an opinion of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the employers, or affiliates of the presenters unless specifically stated. Additionally, any materials, including the legal research, are the product of the individual contributor, not the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Oklahoma Bar Association makes no warranty, express or implied, relating to the accuracy or content of these materials.