Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Covers ethics and professional responsibility for legal professionals. Focuses on the meaning and application of the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct and the Oregon State Bar's Statement of Professionalism.  Also relates the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct to the ABA Model Guidelines For the Utilization of Legal Assistant Services, the NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and the NFPA Affirmation of Responsibility. 

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Identify and evaluate potential or current legal ethics issues.
2. Identify, locate, and apply the law applicable to potential or current legal ethics issues and recommend appropriate resolution.
3. Identify and describe tools and procedures to avoid ethical problems and resources for assistance to resolve legal ethical issues that arise.
4. Prepare cogent and grammatically correct written materials in response to assignments.

Course activities will include reading treatises and primary legal sources on legal ethics; responding to hypothetical questions in discussion or in writing that raise ethical issues, solving problems individually or in groups, and writing in response to assignment prompts to diverse audiences.

Grades will be based upon student attendance and participation in the classroom, performance on written and/or experiential assignments, exam scores, and completion of other projects. 
 

Themes, Concepts & Issues

Professionalism in the workplace.

The evolving role of the paralegal and other non-lawyers in the delivery of legal services and in increasing access to legal services.

The need for continuing legal education.

The legal and ethical principles that guide paralegal conduct, including, but not limited to:

• unauthorized practice of law and lawyer supervision of non-lawyers;
• confidentiality and attorney-client privilege;
• conflicts of interest;
• competence;
• advertising and solicitation;
• financial matters;
• communication;
• conduct related to judges and courts;
• the regulatory structure of the bar;
• child abuse reporting; and
• access to justice.

Competencies & Skills

1. Explain the scope of non-lawyer legal practice;
2. Apply the rules of ethics and professional responsibility to hypothetical fact situations;
3. Identify and describe professionalism and its requirements in the legal workplace.
4. Identify professional associations that serve the paralegal profession and the importance of participating in professional development activities.
5. Identify and describe the ways in which paralegal services are used in the delivery of legal services.

Approved Texts

Choice of texts is at the discretion of each course instructor, but instructors are encouraged to reduce or eliminate textbook cost.