Essay Example on Attorney and Paralegal Ethic in Kenya

The name of the codes of ethics given to the attorneys in the country Kenya where this research was conducted is the Law Society of Kenya Code of Conduct and Ethics.

The body to which clients initially makes charges against their attorneys over unethical conduct in Kenya is then advocates complaint commission.

In the case scenario provided in the study, the findings that Mary the paralegal comes up with clearly shows that there is an ethical issue that is present in the firm. The attorney is committing fraud by manipulating the documents and indicating that he work more number of hours than he does. The attorney also bills Mary according to the rates of lawyers and not paralegal who she is. The other paralegal, Frank is also indicating that he works with the client for more hours than he does. All this eventually leads to the three eventually being paid by the firm more than they actually should earn, which means they are committing fraud. As an upholder of the law, the best course of action in this situation would be for Mary to report the matter to the concerned officials for the rectification of the situation.

The ethical rule of confidentiality, with regards to the legal system, refers to the law that requires the legal practitioners, including the attorneys and the paralegals, to keep the information about their clients as confidential as possible and not by any means release or leak it. This rule of confidentiality, however, have some exceptions, and these include that the legal practitioner can reveal the client's confidential information to a level that he or she sees to be reasonable and not harmful in a situation where the client permits it. Another situation that will permit the attorneys to reveal information about the customers that they are working with has used or is using the services to commit even more crime. In this case, the lawyer is mandated to stop the vice and therefore has the right to reveal the practical information examples for when a client allows a lawyer to reveal information would be if the data ids necessary for investigation in the other case or if the information could be required for sensitizing others. For the second exception, a lawyer would reveal information if his client is causing harm to others or even if his client turns out to be a threat to others.

Unauthorized practice of law refers to the engagement in the practice of law by an individual or entity not authorized or licensed to practice law, under the legislation of a state by using individual, agencies or means that are not recognized by the state or other equivalents that are not recognized. Paralegals can avoid getting involved in the unauthorized practice of law by only performing duties that are under their jurisdiction. It is important for paralegals to understand that they are not mandated to represent clients in the courts of law as they are not licensed at no point should they sign papers or pleadings on behalf of clients, and finally, they should never initiate a lawyer-client relationship.

The case study concerns Bob and Patricia Smith who both want a divorce from their marriage, have agreed on the custody of their son and even regarding their family house and know this lawyer, Franklin Esq who could represent both of them. It is still impossible, however much they are in agreement, for them to be represented in the court of law by the same lawyer as per the legal, ethical provisions. The legal, ethical code of conduct does not allow for the representation of two opposing sides by the same attorney. As much as they both want a divorce, the general assumption is that they have different personal points of interests, leading to their and it is not practical for the same lawyer to represent individuals with the various points of interests in the same case.