For almost one year, Karen has worked as a paralegal in a small law office with two attorneys. Karen works mostly for Lonnie, an experienced attorney who mainly handles juvenile defense cases. One of Lonnie’s clients is Joey Hamilton, a fifteen-year-old boy who has been charged with breaking and entering. Joey’s father, Clint Hamilton, hired Lonnie to represent Joey and is paying Lonnie’s fees. As the case proceeds, Joey decides to accept a plea bargain to a lesser charge and a sentence of community service. On a day when Lonnie is out of the office, Clint calls Karen and says that he is paying for Lonnie’s services and that he does not want Joey to accept the plea bargain. Clint then tells Karen to pass along his “order” to Lonnie not to enter the plea for Joey. From the following answer choices, which describes Karen’s best approach?
Explanation
Answer: B - Tell Clint that he will pass along his “order” and ask Lonnie to call Clint. Answer B is Karen’s best approach, in part because she has worked with Lonnie for less that one year (and may not know how Lonnie wants this handled). More importantly, Answer B is the best approach because Clint is basing his order on the fact that he is paying Lonnie’s fee, while at the same time, Joey is the client and Lonnie is obligated to abide by the client’s decisions regarding the entry of a plea. Paralegals are not expected to handle all situations, but in some situations a paralegal may be given proper instructions and be asked to return a client’s call. Answer A is not the best approach because it does not consider how Lonnie wants to handle the call. Answer C is an inappropriate response to Clint’s call. Answer D is not the best approach because Lonnie has an obligation to Joey as the client.
