The Five "C's" of Law Office Ethics

and there is only one secretary in the office and a file clerk, youshould chat with the lawyer about hiring additional temporarypersonnel, office equipment, and office space, (Lawyers mightnot always think of the practical realities). Second, lawyersmust have the legal knowledge to handle a matter. If you are alitigation legal assistant and your lawyer suddenly decides tofocus more on doing wills, you mightwant to suggest that the lawyer send youto some CLE courses to learn moreabout this substantive area. Finally,workload – everyone has too much butwhen you begin to feel that your desklooks more like a paper recyclingcenter than a law office, you musttell someone until he/she listen.This is true for lawyers and supportstaff. Manage your time efficientlyand know what the realisticlimits are on what can beaccomplished in a day. You arenot doing any clients anyfavors by taking on morethan you (or the lawyer) canhandle. Assess the workloadregularly andspeak up before itbecomes a crisis.5. CashDon’t let lawyersput you in charge ofthe checkbooks. Also,don’t assume responsibility for the accounting of the firmunless there is a lawyer who supervises everything. Lawyersmay delegate tasks but ultimately they are responsible for whatgoes on in a firm. The handling and documentation of moneyheld by a firm, particularly trust account money, is an ethicalobligation. Each state has very specific rules about how notyet-earnedmoney must be handled by law firms. Generally itmust be held in an interest-bearing trust account. Thoseaccounts must be reconciled each month, cross-checking thebank statement, checkbook register, and individual clientledgers. Assure that your lawyers understand what money issupposed to go into a firm trust account, what money is not togo into the account, how and when money can be withdrawn(for instance, in Arizona, a firm may only withdraw moneyfrom a trust account via paper checks – no wire orelectronic transfers) and how long youmust maintain the accounting records. Acommon mistake concerning disbursements:money cannot be disburseduntil that money actually is in theaccount – you cannot “borrow”another client’s money to pay ademanding client while their settlementcheck clears. It’s also advisablefor clients to understand these conceptsand as such, they may beincluded in the written engagementletter that all firms shouldbe giving to clients.These tips, unfortunately,cannot guarantee thatthe firm will notreceive a bar complaintbut they willgo a long way inassuring that you aretaking reasonablemeasures to try todo things ethically. If you have further questions, call yourstate bar for specific advice!Lynda C. Shely is an attorney licensed in Arizona, theDistrict of Columbia and Pennsylvania. She currently serves asDirector of Lawyer Ethics for the State Bar of Arizona.FACTS & FINDINGS / 2002 CAREER CHRONICLE 31