GUIDELINES FOR THE UTILIZATION OF LEGAL ASSISTANTS

A. Legal assistants shall:

1) Disclose their status as legal assistants at the outset of any professional relationship with a client, other attorneys, as court or administrative agency or personnel thereof, or members of the general public;

2) Preserve the confidences and secrets of all clients;

3) Understand the Rules of Professional conduct, as amended , and these guidelines in order to avoid any action which would involve the attorney in violation of the Rules, or give the appearance of professional impropriety.

B. Legal assistants may perform services for an attorney in the representation of a client, provided:

1) The services performed by the legal assistant do not require the exercise of independent professional legal judgment;

2) The attorney maintains a direct relationship with the client and maintains control of all client matters;

3) The attorney supervises the legal assistant;

4) The attorney remains professionally responsible for all work on behalf of the client, including any actions taken or not taken by the legal assistant in connection therewith; and

5) The services performed supplement, merge with and become the attorney's work product.

C. In the supervision of legal assistants, attorneys shall:

1) Design work assignments that correspond to the legal assistant's abilities, knowledge, training and experience.

2) Educate and train the legal assistant with respect to professional responsibility, local rules and practices, and firm policies;

3) Monitor the work and professional conduct of the legal assistant to ensure that the work is substantively correct and timely performed;

4) Provide continuing education for the legal assistant in substantive matters through courses, institutes, workshops, seminars and in-house training; and

5) Encourage and support membership and active participation in professional organizations.

D. Except as otherwise provided by statute, court rule or decision, administrative rule or regulation or the attorney's Rules of Professional Conduct; and within the preceding parameters and proscriptions, a legal assistant may perform any function delegated by an attorney, including but not limited to the following:

1) Conduct client interviews and maintain general contact with the client after the establishment of the attorney-client relationship, so long as the client is aware of the status and function of the legal assistant, and the client contact is under the supervision of an attorney;

2) Locate and interview witnesses, so long as the witnesses are aware of the status and function of the legal assistant;

3) Conduct investigations and statistical and documentary research for review by the attorney;

4) Draft legal documents for review by the attorney;

5) Draft correspondence and pleadings for review by and signature of the attorney;

6) Summarize depositions, interrogatories and testimony for review by the attorney;

7) Attend executions of wills, real estate closings, depositions, court or administrative hearings and trials with the attorney;

8) Author and sign letters provided the legal assistant's status is clearly indicated and the correspondence does not contain independent legal opinions or legal advice; and

9) Conduct legal research for review by the attorney.

E. A lawyer may not split fees with a legal assistant nor pay a legal assistant for the referral of legal business.  A lawyer may compensate a legal assistant based on the quality of the legal assistant's work and the value of that work to a law practice.  A lawyer may not compensate a legal assistant based solely upon a quota of revenues generated for the firm by a legal assistant's work on a specific case or a group of cases within a certain prescribed time period, although a legal assistant may participate in a firm's profit-sharing plan.

Guidelines tailored to a specific practice area may be promulgated from time to time to further guide the Bar in the proper utilization of legal assistants subject to review by the Supreme Court Advisory Committee and the Utah Supreme Court.

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