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Posted by Bobbi in CT on 2/13/05 10:47am
Sadly for you, I agree with Ted and HisHughness. Get yourself a lawyer, quick!
1. Pro Bono. I do a great deal of pro bono work - through my lawfirm, which does not charge clients for the attorney and paralegal time, and through the Conn. Bar Association / Statewide Legal Services (clinics where multiple paralegals prepare everything and one attorney Reviews). By definition it is at NO Charge (free), for people who cannot afford a lawyer under specific income guidelines, and under the supervision or review of an attorney. Since you did not attorney review your work and you charged a fee for it, it's not "pro bono."
2. "Legal" research for bankruptcy sounds like crossing the UPL line. Sounds like YOU made the decision which form of bankruptcy, which case law applies, which forms to use, how to proceed, and what would be the best information for those forms. UPL.
You are young and meant well. This is an example of what I tell aspiring paralegals in their first year ethics class, "Bad things can happen to well-intentioned good people." I would worry more about your career as a "paralegal' than your notary commission. If this is published in your state Bar association trade papers and magazines (like in CT), no law firm will want to hire you and, if gets to Court, you get to be one of those precedent setting cases that will be used in paralegal classes as an example of what not to do. Not what you want your name to be remembered for nationwide for years to come. Sounds like you will be out lawyer's fees and costs (paying your own and your "friends"), paying back the $350 and probably "damages" for any financial loss your "friend" had because of her reliance on your research and "advice."
I do wish you luck, but you put yourself in a bad situation. I am surprised that none of your paralegal classes pointed out the pitfalls of "helping" someone with a "legal" problem. There are tons of cases and examples nationwide to choose from as to why a paralegal, legal secretary, or notary should be Very Careful. Something I also used to tell students,"A little knowledge can go a long way - the wrong way." |
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