NFPA Paralegal Core Competency Exam (PCCE)Paralegal PracticeEasy
A paralegal is assisting an attorney with a complex business litigation case. The paralegal is tasked with drafting initial discovery requests, including interrogatories and requests for production of documents. Before submitting these to the opposing counsel, what is the paralegal's most critical responsibility?
- AConduct a final check to ensure that no privileged information is inadvertently requested.
- BObtain attorney review and approval of all drafted discovery requests.
- CConfirm that all requests are formatted according to the local rules of civil procedure.
- DEnsure all discovery requests are meticulously proofread for grammatical errors and typos.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Obtain attorney review and approval of all drafted discovery requests.
Paralegals must always work under the direct supervision of an attorney. Drafting discovery is a substantive legal task that requires attorney review and approval before being filed or served to ensure it aligns with legal strategy and avoids unauthorized practice of law.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Ensuring no privileged information is requested is part of the attorney's strategic review, not the paralegal's final critical responsibility before approval.
- C. Formatting is important for compliance but does not supersede the need for attorney review of content.
- D. Proofreading is important but secondary to attorney approval for substantive legal documents.
Attorney Supervision
Paralegals must always work under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney, who ultimately bears responsibility for the paralegal's work.
- Prevents Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL).
- Ensures legal accuracy and strategic alignment.
- Attorney maintains ultimate responsibility.
Memory trick: An Attorney's Seal makes Paralegal Work Real.