Ken is a paralegal who works for a law firm that handles personal injury and workers' compensation cases. Previously, Ken worked for the legal department of a state agency that monitored and enforced state occupational safety laws. At the state agency, one of Ken's duties was to create an annual report that summarized accident reports submitted by manufacturing employers in the state. The annual report was used internally and not published, but a copy could be obtained under the state's public record act. Ken's employer has just accepted a case against Shamrock Manufacturing. For several years, Shamrock reported more accidents than any other company on the list prepared by Ken for the state agency. Can Ken work on the case against Shamrock?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Yes, because the annual report prepared by Ken is available under the state's public record act. A former government lawyer who has "confidential government information" regarding a person that the lawyer learned while employed as a government lawyer "may not represent a private client whose interests are adverse to that person [if] the information could be used to the material disadvantage of that person." Model Rule 1.11. "A paralegal must not . . . take any actions that attorneys may not take." NALA Code, Canon 1. Answer C is the best choice because Rule 1.11 applies to "confidential government information" and the annual report prepared by Ken could be obtained through a public records request. Answer A is not the best choice because the information is not confidential, so the issue of screening Ken does not arise.

Ken Is a Paralegal Who Works for a Law Firm