Attorney-Client and Attorney Work Product Privileges:
Their Application to Paralegals
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
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