In 1968, the American Bar Association declared that paralegals were cost-efficient partners in, and a viable alternative to, the way legal services are delivered. Thereafter, the paralegal profession experienced significant growth and development. Today, more than ever, the courts, members of the bar and consumers of legal services are aware that the benefits of optimizing paralegal skill and knowledge are imperative to the cost-efficient practice of law. As paralegal recognition increased, so too have the complexity of paralegal roles been expanded. Paralegal responsibilities have evolved to such a point that, with the exception of those tasks that may only be accomplished by an attorney, paralegals are performing nearly every task that attorneys perform. Consequently, paralegals' attention to their ethical obligations, as well as ensuring that clients' interests are not jeopardized, are necessary considerations to the practice of law in the 1990s.
One such consideration is the applicability of the attorney-client and attorney work product privileges to paralegals. The National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (NFPA), recognizing its responsibility to provide its members and others in the legal profession information on how these privileges are extended to paralegals, has studied and researched the issue for several years. Now, NFPA offers the results of its research to describe the evolution of applying the attorney-client and attorney work product privileges to paralegals to ensure that paralegals remain the cost-efficient partners in the delivery of legal services that was intended upon the inception and recognition of the profession.
DEFINING THE PRIVILEGES AS THEY APPLY TO ATTORNEYS
Attorney-Client PrivilegeIDENTIFYING THE ISSUES AS IT RELATES TO PARALEGALS
EXTENDING PRIVILEGES TO PARALEGALS
Paralegal's Work Product Would Have Been Protected If the Privilege Had Not Been Waived Previously by the ClientParalegal is an Extension of the Attorney
Nurse Paralegal's Memorandum of Witness Interviews Protected
Information told to Paralegal Protected by Attorney-Client Privilege
Paralegal Permitted to Assert Attorney-Client Privilege at Deposition
Documents Created by Paralegals for the Purposes of Litigation Were Clearly Work Product
Paralegals are Enjoined from Revealing Confidences and Work Product Acquired at Prior Employer
Attorneys' Failure to Obtain Adversary's Consent or Erect Ethical Wall Results in Disqualification
Court Permits Paralegal to Invoke Attorney-Client and Work Product Doctrine Privileges
Paralegal Was Properly Prevented from Disclosing Confidences
