ALA Professional Ethics and Conduct 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the context of legal management, 'professional competence' requires a CLM to:
- Maintain expertise only in billing and collections
- Continuously develop knowledge across all relevant management disciplines (Correct answer)
- Defer all decisions to supervising attorneys
- Limit scope to administrative tasks defined at hire
Correct answer: Continuously develop knowledge across all relevant management disciplines
Competence for a CLM involves continuous development across finance, HR, operations, and other legal management disciplines.
Question 2: A legal administrator learns during a staff meeting that a client's case result will be announced publicly. Sharing this information with a friend who trades stocks would constitute:
- Permissible disclosure since the result is about to be public
- A breach of confidentiality and potentially illegal insider trading (Correct answer)
- Acceptable networking behavior
- A minor ethical lapse requiring only a written apology
Correct answer: A breach of confidentiality and potentially illegal insider trading
Sharing non-public client information for financial gain violates confidentiality duties and securities laws.
Question 3: Which scenario represents a 'conflict of interest' for a legal administrator?
- Managing a department that includes a former colleague
- Overseeing vendor contracts where the administrator's spouse owns a stake in one vendor (Correct answer)
- Attending a CLM conference paid for by the firm
- Using firm software for personal professional development
Correct answer: Overseeing vendor contracts where the administrator's spouse owns a stake in one vendor
A financial interest held by a family member in a vendor creates a conflict requiring disclosure and recusal.
Question 4: The ALA's emphasis on 'integrity' in professional conduct primarily means:
- Maximizing firm profitability above all other considerations
- Acting consistently with honesty and strong moral principles even under pressure (Correct answer)
- Following attorney instructions without independent judgment
- Maintaining strict confidentiality of all internal firm data
Correct answer: Acting consistently with honesty and strong moral principles even under pressure
Integrity means adhering to ethical principles honestly and consistently, regardless of external pressures.
Question 5: A legal administrator is asked by a managing partner to alter financial records to present a more favorable picture to the firm's lender. The administrator should:
- Comply since the managing partner has authority over the administrator
- Refuse and document the request, escalating to ethics counsel or the firm's board (Correct answer)
- Make the changes but note the discrepancy in a private log
- Seek a second opinion from another partner before deciding
Correct answer: Refuse and document the request, escalating to ethics counsel or the firm's board
Altering financial records constitutes fraud; the administrator must refuse and escalate through proper channels.
Question 6: How does the CLM certification body address violations of its Code of Professional Responsibility?
- Violations are handled exclusively by the employer's HR department
- The certification body may investigate and impose sanctions including revocation of certification (Correct answer)
- Only state bar associations have authority to sanction legal administrators
- Violations are addressed solely through civil litigation
Correct answer: The certification body may investigate and impose sanctions including revocation of certification
The ALA certification body has its own disciplinary process that can result in sanctions including loss of the CLM credential.
Question 7: Which practice best demonstrates a legal administrator's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as an ethical obligation?
- Hiring exclusively from Ivy League universities to ensure quality
- Implementing bias-free hiring processes and fostering an inclusive workplace culture (Correct answer)
- Prioritizing cost reduction in staffing over demographic considerations
- Delegating all DEI initiatives to outside consultants
Correct answer: Implementing bias-free hiring processes and fostering an inclusive workplace culture
Ethical legal management requires actively building fair, inclusive processes and workplace environments.
ALA Professional Ethics and Conduct 3
In the context of legal management, 'professional competence' requires a CLM to: