ALA Professional Ethics and Conduct 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A legal administrator discovers that a senior partner has been billing a client for work performed by a paralegal at attorney rates. What is the administrator's most appropriate first step?
- Ignore it since billing decisions are the attorney's responsibility
- Document the discrepancy and report it internally to firm leadership or ethics counsel (Correct answer)
- Immediately notify the client of the overbilling
- Contact the state bar directly without internal escalation
Correct answer: Document the discrepancy and report it internally to firm leadership or ethics counsel
The administrator should document and escalate internally through appropriate channels before taking external action.
Question 2: Under the ALA Code of Professional Responsibility, which duty most directly governs a legal administrator's obligation to safeguard client information?
- Duty of competence
- Duty of confidentiality (Correct answer)
- Duty of loyalty
- Duty of candor
Correct answer: Duty of confidentiality
The duty of confidentiality requires administrators to protect client information from unauthorized disclosure.
Question 3: A legal administrator is offered a significant gift by a vendor seeking the firm's business. According to ethical standards, the administrator should:
- Accept the gift as a personal reward for good work
- Accept only if the gift is under a firm-defined threshold
- Decline the gift and disclose the offer to firm management (Correct answer)
- Accept and donate the gift to charity
Correct answer: Decline the gift and disclose the offer to firm management
Gifts from vendors seeking business create conflicts of interest and should be declined with disclosure to management.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'imputed disqualification' as it may affect a legal administrator's role?
- An administrator is disqualified from a case based on a conflict held by another firm member (Correct answer)
- An administrator loses CLM credentials due to inactivity
- A client is disqualified from representation due to fee disputes
- An administrator is barred from managing a practice area
Correct answer: An administrator is disqualified from a case based on a conflict held by another firm member
Imputed disqualification means a conflict of one firm member can disqualify others, including non-attorney staff, in certain circumstances.
Question 5: A CLM candidate is required to complete continuing education credits primarily to:
- Satisfy state bar requirements for attorney supervision
- Demonstrate ongoing competency and commitment to professional development (Correct answer)
- Qualify for salary increases within the firm
- Meet IRS requirements for professional expense deductions
Correct answer: Demonstrate ongoing competency and commitment to professional development
Continuing education ensures CLMs maintain and update professional competencies in a changing legal environment.
Question 6: When a legal administrator becomes aware that a firm employee is violating workplace harassment policies, the ethical obligation is to:
- Address it privately with the employee without documentation
- Report the behavior through established HR or compliance channels (Correct answer)
- Wait for the victim to formally complain before acting
- Resolve it informally to protect firm reputation
Correct answer: Report the behavior through established HR or compliance channels
Ethical conduct requires reporting workplace misconduct through proper compliance channels to protect all parties.
Question 7: A legal administrator who holds a financial interest in a company being considered as a vendor to the firm should:
- Proceed with vendor evaluation since administrators do not make final decisions
- Recuse from the selection process and disclose the conflict (Correct answer)
- Cast a deciding vote to avoid appearing biased
- Sell the financial interest only after the contract is signed
Correct answer: Recuse from the selection process and disclose the conflict
Disclosing the conflict and recusing from the decision protects the administrator and the firm from impropriety.
ALA Professional Ethics and Conduct 2
A legal administrator discovers that a senior partner has been billing a client for work performed by a paralegal at attorney rates.
What is the administrator's most appropriate first step?