I was sitting in court at Daley yesterday waiting for my case to be called and I observed a young woman step up on a case who was not a lawyer which she readily admitted. After some questioning the judge angrily demanded that her firm get a lawyer over here immediately. The young woman made the call outside the courtroom and then returned saying that no one could come over and that the attorney had a broken leg and wouldn’t be available for 4 weeks (ever heard of crutches). The judge then asked whether or not there were children involved in the case (domestic relations matter) so the young woman went outside to make another phone call. After which she returned and said there are no kids involved and the judge finally granted her a 5 week status date.
Sending a non-lawyer or paralegal from your office to court is stupid at so many levels. By far the biggest reason being the behavior that you’re subjecting your staff too. I’ve seen the above happen more than once. Granted it’s not the non-lawyers fault but it’s akin to someone yelling at the ticket agent at the airport…it’s not her/his fault the flight’s 2 hours late but he/she is on the front line and will take the brunt of the criticism. Beyond that I think you’re probably opening yourself up to being accused of unauthorized practice of law and you’re certainly not helping your relationships with opposing counsel or the court.
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