©2007 New Jersey Law Journal Page printed from: http://www.njlj.com LETTER TO THE EDITOR:  Mandate Staff Ethics Training As Part of CLE 05-04-2007 Dear Editor: Perhaps the recent movement toward mandatory continuing legal education is the perfect opportunity for the bar also to require that support staff receive CLE ethics training. It is in the best interest of New Jersey attorneys to consider mandatory annual ethics CLE for support staff. Why? We are in the front lines everyday dealing with client-sensitive matters, many without any training on how to deal with ethical issues. For all the talk of the need to prevent ethics transgressions in the legal profession, a glaring education gap exists for one group: paralegals and support staff. Ethics is a topic not usually covered - until there is a problem. It seems to be that unless there is an unintentional violation of the attorney-client relationship, the issue of confidentiality and other professional matters is never mentioned. As a paralegal for more than 13 years, and as moderator of a career Web site for New Jersey paralegals for the past seven years (www.NJParalegal.com), I often get questions from fellow-paralegals asking what to do in certain situations that arise in their office. Those of us who have been educated in an American Bar Association-accredited program have some knowledge of ethical issues. However, some support staff are not even aware of the ethical issues to avoid, yet they are on their firms' front lines every day, in danger of unintentionally violating ethics rules. Consider the results of a poll taken on Jan. 3 by www.NJParalegal.com, where we asked our members the following: Have you ever received training or instruction by your attorney-employer on how to handle ethical issues? Specifically, maintaining attorney-client relationships and the confidentiality of your clients? Not surprisingly 80 percent said they received no training in client-attorney privileges, ethics issues or how to avoid the unauthorized practice of law when dealing with clients. Here are some examples of common situations where support staff may have crossed the ethics line: • Paralegals and support staff failing to identify themselves properly in telephone and written communications, possibly leaving the impression they were attorneys. • Paralegals and support staff giving advice in response to questions from clients. • Paralegals and staff engaging in conversations with clients in the reception area in front of other clients. • Staff lecturing, berating clients or being otherwise disrespectful to clients or court personnel. Attorneys need to be more aware of training and educating support staff on how to avoid or better handle these types of situations. After all, it is their license on the line. Perhaps the upcoming mandatory CLE discussions are the proper time to address whether attorneys must offer ethics CLE to all staff each year - if for no other reason than to save their backs by avoiding ethics investigations due to unintentional violations by their staffs. Cindy Lopez Toms River