An attorney is representing the defendant in a personal injury case. She deposed a third-party witness about the witness's knowledge of the plaintiff's physical condition and current abilities. The witness, who is a friend of the plaintiff, testified that he saw the plaintiff slip and fall in the defendant's warehouse while making a delivery and that, since then, he has seen the plaintiff with serious back pain on several occasions. The attorney believes that the witness is lying, but has not obtained any evidence to the contrary. The attorney's paralegal calls the witness on the telephone and claims to be an accident investigator from the union to which both the plaintiff and the witness belong. The paralegal then begins asking questions about the incident at the warehouse, and the witness says that the plaintiff was injured in the fall, but has been to three doctors who all say he has fully recovered. The paralegal then gets the names of the three doctors. Has the paralegal violated any rule of professional conduct?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Yes, because the Model Rule prohibit conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. "It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to . . . engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." Model Rule 8.4(c). "A paralegal must not . . . take any actions that attorneys may not take." NALA Code, Canon 1. Answer B is the best choice because it is a correct statement of the Model Rule and will apply here since an attorney can be subject to discipline for the conduct of a non-attorney staff member. Model Rule 5.3. Answer A is not the best choice because authorization from the supervising attorney does not make the misconduct permissible. Answer C is not the best choice because the Model Rules do apply to non-attorney staff, at least indirectly. Answer D is not the best choice because, even if true, the paralegal still engaged in misconduct.

An Attorney Is Representing the Defendant in a Personal Injury