Paula Plaintiff hired Alex Attorney to represent her in a personal injury suit. As the parties are about to complete the discovery process, Alex confers with Oliver Olafsen, who represents the Danny Defendant. Oliver states that he believes the case can be settled for $25,000. Alex immediately rejects the suggestion without any explanation. Which of the following actions would be improper for Oliver to do?

Question

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It would be improper for Oliver to send a paralegal from his office to deliver a message to Paula that offers to settle the case for $25,000. A lawyer must not communicate directly with a person the lawyer knows is represented by counsel, unless the person's counsel consents or the contact is permitted by law. Since Oliver is prohibited from speaking directly with Paula under Model Rule 4.2, and as an agent of Oliver, his paralegal cannot speak to Paula either. (Model Rule 4.2. "A paralegal must not . . . take any actions that attorneys may not take." NALA Code, Canon 1.)
Filing a motion to have the case dismissed would not be improper, although the rejection is unlikely to support a motion to dismiss. Reminding Alex of their duty to inform their client of settlement offers would not be improper, and neither would be completing the doscovery process and proceeding to trial as planned.

Paula Plaintiff Hired Alex Attorney to Represent Her in a Personal