“Role of nonlawyer assistants in client intake addressed in new ABA ethics opinion” —

• “Lawyers may train nonlawyer legal assistants to handle client intake matters, but they must ensure that such assistants’ conduct is compatible with the lawyer’s professional obligations, including giving clients an opportunity to consult with the lawyer about questions, according to an ethics opinion from the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released Wednesday.”
• “Formal Opinion 506 acknowledges that nonlawyer assistants—such as paralegals, legal assistants and others—provide great services to lawyers. But lawyers can run into ethical problems if they delegate too much to these assistants and do not ensure that the assistants’ conduct complies with the ethical rules.”
• “‘While the benefits of using nonlawyer assistants are many, without proper policies, training and supervision in place, this delegation could lead to ethical violations and unfortunate consequences for clients and lawyers,’ according to the opinion, noting that the practice ‘must be carefully and astutely managed.'”
• “Lawyers may train nonlawyer assistants to handle much initial client intake information, such as obtaining initial information about the prospective case, run an initial conflicts check, answer general questions about fees, and even obtain the prospective client’s signature. In other words, nonlawyer assistants often can handle general questions from prospective clients.”
• “However, when the questions become more specific about legal services, those questions may have to be directed to the lawyer. And prospective clients should have the opportunity to consult with the lawyer. The bottom line is that ‘the prospective client [should] always [be] offered an opportunity to discuss the fee agreement and scope of representation with the lawyer.'”

Full opinion: “Formal Opinion 506: Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants” —

• “A lawyer may train and supervise a nonlawyer to assist with prospective client intake tasks including obtaining initial information about the matter, performing an initial conflict check, determining whether the assistance sought is in an area of law germane to the lawyer’s practice, assisting with answering general questions about the fee agreement or process of representation, and obtaining the prospective client’s signature on the fee agreement provided that the prospective client always is offered an opportunity to communicate with the lawyer including to discuss the fee agreement and scope of representation.”
• “Because Model Rule 5.5 prohibits lawyers from assisting in the unauthorized practice of law, whether a nonlawyer may answer a prospective client’s specific question depends on the question presented. If the prospective client asks about what legal services the client should obtain from the lawyer, wants to negotiate the fees or expenses, or asks for interpretation of the engagement agreement, the lawyer is required to respond to ensure that the non-lawyer does not engage in the unauthorized practice of law and that accurate information is provided to the prospective client so that the prospective client can make an informed decision about whether to enter into the representation.”
• “A lawyer’s delegation of prospective client intake tasks to a nonlawyer or the lawyer’s use of technology to assist with the initial intake of clients provides significant benefits and increased efficiency to lawyers.”
• “While the benefits of using nonlawyer assistants are many, without proper policies, training, and supervision in place, this delegation could lead to ethical violations and unfortunate consequences for clients and lawyers. The practice must be ‘carefully and astutely managed.'”
• “Whether a nonlawyer may answer a prospective client’s specific question depends on the question presented and what would be considered to be the practice of law in the jurisdiction. That is important because Model Rule 5.5(a) prohibits lawyers from assisting others in practicing law in a jurisdiction in violation of the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction. As Comment [2] notes, the definition of the practice of law is established by law and varies from one jurisdiction to another. Lawyers should understand how it is defined in their jurisdiction and take care that the supervised nonlawyers understand that definition and how it limits what nonlawyers may do.”
• “For example, whether a nonlawyer may answer a question relating to fee or cost calculation or how payments can be made may depend on whether the question requires the application of law to the facts of the case, as opposed to a question that merely asks about a firm procedural matter. When the question presented would require the application of law to facts, a nonlawyer also may convey a client question to the lawyer, have the lawyer determine the answer to the question, and then relay the lawyer’s answer to the client, again, depending on the complexity of the question posed. The lawyer will be responsible for determining if the inquiry is best answered by the lawyer communicating directly with the client, so the lawyer can gather more information to make an informed recommendation.”