Melissa is a paralegal at a mid-size firm that provides legal services to small- and mid-size businesses. Melissa works for Jack Samuelson, who assists small- and mid-size businesses with corporate transactions. One of Jack’s clients is Central City Flooring, Inc. One day, Melissa takes a call from Sharon, who is the executive assistant to Peter Johnson, the president of Central City Flooring. Sharon asks Melissa to e-mail copies of the deed for a parcel of land that Central City purchased last year and the construction contract for a new building that Jack helped negotiate. Melissa remembers working on the transactions and knows Sharon from previous matters. Can Melissa send electronic copies of the documents without getting Jack’s permission?
Explanation
Answer: A - Melissa can send the electronic copies because the client’s file belongs to the client. Under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the client’s file is deemed property of the client, and the client has a right, upon reasonable request, to copies of documents in the file, to possession of the file itself, or to transfer of the file to a different law firm. Answer B is helpful, since Melissa should only send the documents if requested by someone with appropriate authority, such as a corporate officer. But Answer A is better because it directly gives the rule to follow. Answer C is not correct because client confidentiality does not prevent the client from seeing documents in the client’s file. Answer D is not correct because it is irrelevant whether either of the documents are public.
