Collaborate this week in the teams your instructor has assigned to discuss the scenario below and questions. Actively work in your team to discuss each question. Review the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Comments.

Imagine that you have been working as a paralegal for a sole practitioner for several years. Your supervising attorney has decided to create a website for the firm and would like you to research the ethical rules about what is permissible to include in the website. Your attorney has the following specific questions. Within your assigned group discuss each of the questions and identify rules that support and/or do not support each proposed item.

1. Does the website have to list the state where s/he is licensed to practice?
2. Can the attorney list a legal specialty on the webpage? If so, are there specific rules that have to be followed? Is the attorney allowed to state that s/he is a certified personal injury litigator?
3. Is it permissible for the attorney to list famous clients or well-known cases s/he has worked on?
4. The attorney would like to pay a former client, Susan Turner, for a quote about how well she was represented in a personal injury lawsuit. Is this permissible?
5. The attorney would like to include a link in the website for web surfers to “chat with an attorney.” You, the paralegal, may be required to respond to chat, calls, or instant messages if the attorney is out of the office. Is this permitted by the rules?

Individual Assignment

After you have completed your team exercise:

1. Create a narrated Power Point presentation to the supervising attorney which presents the highlights of what was discussed. (For assistance on recording a voice-over on a Power Point presentation, please click here for a tutorial.) Be sure to use proper tone, clearly enunciate your words, and eliminate or reduce background noise.
2. Make sure to answer each question from above. Cite and apply the rules used to reach your conclusion as to whether or not each proposed item is permitted by the rules. Be sure to include an explanation – do not simply quote the rule, but explain why the rule does or does not allow each proposal.
3. Your Power Point presentation should be 10 – 12 slides, including the title slide and reference slide.
4. Draft a short memo summarizing how your work as a group, both orally and in the discussion area, contributed to your understanding and analysis. This summary should have a logical flow, be well-ordered and insightful.