Read pg 112-113 on
Financial Interest;
pgs 115-116 on
Intimate Relations
with Clients.
Read 117-120
Read 122-124
Read 125-127
Buying a Claim
today
Intimate relations
with clients
Typical Conflict
situations
What will happen if
I have a conflict?
How to Change Jobs
isn’t.
2. Recent current events
make this subject
interesting
3. The Intimate Relations
with clients part is fun to
discuss and role play!
The bottom line question
for most students
There are 3 different
videos on Conflict
of Interest
Article on Lerach –
Milberg/Weiss on
line (Extra
Resources) for
Chapter 4
F.Lee Bailey/ Patty
Hearst story on line
(Extra Resources)
for Chapter 4
database the beginnings
of their own conflict
check system.
If that software is not
available, a Word
document (also
searchable) is fine.
Students read article and
discuss.
students are grasping
this concept.
If you are more
traditional, this would be
a good time to test on
the first four chapters of
the book.
6
Chapter 5 (140-145)
pgs. 146-152
pg. 147
pg 152-154
pgs. 154-156
Why Advertise?
Solicitation
Moratorium
Runners & Cappers
Access to Justice
1. The need for legal
services
2. Proper and Improper
Solicitation and Reaching
Clients
3. Moratorium on client
contact
4. Improper fees
Power Point Chapter
5
If you remember to tell
the students to bring
phone directories to
class, they can do an ad
search for paralegal ads.
Discuss the connection
with UPL
This is a good time for a
Ethics Law Notebook
check.
7
Chapter 6 (168-170)
pgs. 170-176
pg. 176
Client Contracts
Types of fee agrmts
What should be in
the fee agreement.
1.Client Contract types
Hourly
Contingency
misc
2. Fee Agreements
3. Keeping Track of Time
4. Client Files in the fee
agreement
Power Point 7
Excellent video –
contemporaneous
time keeping!
Too funny!
Doing the math!
Collaborative assignment
on time entries for fact
pattern on page 199
Have students analyze a
typical client contract.
Grade the time entry
assignment.
Have students answer
Chapter end questions
8
Chapter 6
pg. 184-185
pg. 186-188
Client Files
Awarding paralegal
fees controversy
Trust Accts &
IOLTA
Fiduciaries
1. Fee Shifting Statutes
2. Awardability of
Paralegal fees
3. Retainers
4. Client Trust Accounts
5. Fiduciary Duties
Power Point Chap. 6
Two videos on Fees
Have students listen to
Richlin case oral
argument with the US
Supreme Court from
Oyez.org (The whole
thing is 1 hour)
Discuss videos
Role play student
explaining to a “client”
what a trust account is
and what it is for
Role play explaining the
fee agreement to the
client without UPL
9
Chapter 7
pg. 203-208
pg. 208
pg. 209
pg. 210
Hu v Fang (Ch. 1)
Competence
What is a tort?
Elements of
“negligence”
Negligent disregard
Negligent
supervision
Negligence &
unbundling
E&O insurance
1. How paralegals get
and stay competent
2. How negligence is
proved against
lawyers
3. E&O Insurance
4. Respondeat Superior
Power Chap. 7
Study Guide for
PACE
Investigate NALA’s and
NFPA’s “competency”
exams on line. Get some
practice questions to
review. Discuss the
relative importance in
your state of certification
by a paralegal
organization. If you live
in a state where the state
has a voluntary
regulatory scheme for
paralegals, talk about
that. Students can
discuss in groups and
elect one person in each
group “report out” to the
class.
Students (individually or
in groups) create an oral
argument in favor of
certification by one
organization or another.
Discussion of Hu v Fang
Students should know
your state’s S/L for
malpractice, tolling
events, when the statute
begins to run
Ask for a 5 minute
response to a
hypothetical on pg. 233
10
Chapter 7
Mental Competence
1. How Big is the
for Lawyers and
Power Point
CalBar website.
Students can do
they would deal with the
situation.
.
11
Chapter 8
pgs. 231-240
Case #2 – pg. 258
Evidence Issues
1. Suppressing
2. Tampering
3. Fabricating
4. Spoliation
Power Point Chap. 8
Video on smoking
gun
DVD Movie: Class
Action
Discuss video
or
Watch the movie?
Discuss the character’s
choices when she learns
her firm intends to hide a
key document.
In groups, students
create office policies
that ensure employees
are not tempted to
meddle with evidence.
12
Chapter 8
240–252
Case 1, pg. 254
Discovery Issues
1. Using Deceit
2. Using Technology
3. Pretexting
4. Courtesy &
Truthfulness
5. Prosecutor Rules
Power Point Chap 8
Video on “When
You are Asked to
Lie”
Role play what to say
when a supervisor
instructs you to lie.
Notebook Check (last
one was Week 6)
13
Chapter 9
264–272
State law on Rule
8.3. Is it “shall” or
“should?”
California 6068 –
self-reporting
Reporting
Misconduct
Integrity
1. The Lawyer Rules
Should
Shall
Self-Report (Calif.)
2. The Paralegal Rule
Power Point Chap9
Sandel’s Lecture
from Harvard U.
athome.harvard.edu
Use Sandel’s lecture to
begin class debate on
morals v. ethics
none
14
Pgs. 121-122
186
Pro Bono
1. Review Access to
Justice
2. Pro Bono and the
“mandatory” option
3. Pro Bono opportunity
for Paralegals
Power Point Chap 9
Students should locate
local pro bono
opportunities for
paralegals.
This is a good time to
help students get caught
up with their Ethics
Notebooks.
15
Paralegal Regulation
Now that your students
have more background in
what paralegals do, now
is a good time to see if
they have changed their
minds about regulation
(They discussed this in
Class discussion on
regulation
Final Exam Hypothetical
Based
13
Some Teaching Tools
I’ve provided some tools for you to use to mix things up a bit in your class. No one wants to
lecture full time and no one wants to be lectured-to full time. These are some learning and
assessment tools that your students may not have seen before.
KLQ
The first form is a KLQ form. The first box is for students to write what they know about the
topic. This is the K box. Then you instruct students to read something like a magazine article or
Key Concepts
The second form is a Key Concepts form. It’s pretty self-explanatory. (It is also 2-sided.) It
gives students an opportunity to think about how they are reading and conceptualize what they
are reading. You can use this in class or outside of class. I like to break up a 3-hour class with
Four Square Perspective
This form is a fun way to get conversations going about some ethical issue that arises in a case.
The case should include the activities of a paralegal, ethical or not. An example is the Landeros
case. Have the students read the case in class and write down the perspectives of the different
players. How would Paralegal Landeros view her behavior? How would the employing lawyer
view those activities? How about the client and the public? In the bottom box, your students
Reading 3, 2, 1
This is just another form for leading students through their reading. They can use it in class or
out of class. It helps them focus on the Key Ideas in their reading as well as forces them to think
14
The Five-Minute Essay
This is a good form for a Check for Understanding at the end of a class or to find out what your
Think, Ink, Pair, Share
You don’t need a form for this unless you want the students’ work to look uniform. In this
exercise you provide a question. The students take a few minutes to think. Then they write down
Four Corners
An activity to get students standing and moving around. You will need four large signs:
AGREE
AGREE SOMEWHAT
DISSAGREE SOMEWHAT
DISSAGREE
Post one sign in each corner of your classroom. Then make a list of questions that require
students to make a judgment call. You can use the Critical Thinking Questions on pg. 28. If you
Demonstration Line-Up
Similar to Four Corners, Demonstration Line-Up is where students decide how strongly they feel
about an issue and then line up with other students in order of the strength of their convictions.
This activity requires that students talk to each other to determine the strength of their feels as
Just Deal With It
This is an informal role play activity. “Just Deal With It” is an opportunity to play a “lightning
round” of ethical choices. I shout out a short scenario and look for the student who seems most
puzzled by it. Pointing to that student, I say: “Just deal with it” and the student is expected to
15
Things I know about:
Things I learned in my reading:
Questions I still have:
Name: ________________________________________________
KLQ
Student Name: _ Date:_
16
Key Concept Synthesis
Directions: Use this graphic organizer to identify the five most important concepts (in words or
phases) from the reading. Think about identifying the five most important concepts this way: If
you had to explain the reading to someone who has not read the text, what are the five most
important things you would want them to understand.
Five Key Concepts
(with page numbers)
Put the Concept in Your Own Words
Explain Why the Concept Is Important
& Make Connections to Other
Concepts
1
2
3
17
4
5
18
Four Square Perspective
Perspective on: ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Paralegal
Lawyer
Client
Public or Court
Conclusions/Connections/Realizations/Questions
19
Reading 3 ● 2 ● 1
Three key ideas I found out from the reading:
●
●
●
●
●
One question I still have:
●
20
Five-Minute Essay
Take five minutes and tell me one thing that you learned in class today. Your
essay should have a topic sentence, at least five supporting sentences, and a
concluding sentence. If you have a question that didn’t get answered today,
write that at the bottom.
21
Lesson Objectives and Lecture Suggestions for the Text
Introduction to the Text
Lesson Objective: In this 8th Edition, there is no formal Introduction section. Nevertheless, it is
good to start with an introduction to the idea that “morals” and “legal ethics” are not the same.
Lecture Suggestion: Start the class with a tour of the textbook. You would be amazed at how
little students know about textbooks. This text tells the student exactly what they need to know
(in the form of the questions listed on the first page of each chapter) so point that out. Point out
Hand out your syllabus (or tell them where it is on line) and walk through it with them.
Then, give an example of morality where many answers are “right” answers. “You see someone
steal a small item, a $20 bill, out of a coworker’s wallet.” Then ask the students what they would
do. Some students will confront the thief. Some will tell the victim. Some will notify the office
manager. Some believe the theft is none of their business and will do nothing. All of these
Students are expected to find the rules of law
Lesson Objective: All of the states hide their rules of ethics someplace different. (If you live in
California, look in the Appendix where we have translated ABA rule numbers into California
code numbers.)
Activity Suggestion for the first (or second) day of class:
Activity 1: Turn to page 276 in the textbook and do Collaborative Assignment #1. It’s a good
icebreaker. It’s fun, it will help you get to know your students and your students to know each
other.
22
Activity 2: Here’s another icebreaker that you can pick up again in Chapter 8. It has to do with
lying:
Each person writes down 3 things about him/herself. Two of the items are true and one is false.
An example might be: 1) I have two brothers; 2) I have traveled to 8 different countries in
Europe; 3) I have two cats and three dogs. After everyone has written down three things, the