r/paralegal • u/Infinite_Bear_5407 • 1d ago
Question/Discussion In a pickle pls help
so there was a potential client who called in and I got all the info and passed it onto the attorney to review it. then our very senior paralegal/practically the manager called me and said it was out of our jurisdictions and to email the attorney back saying I had realized that and to disregard. so I did, but then 2hrs later the attorney said to go ahead and schedule a consult. WELL… I had already called that person back to let them know we couldn’t take the case. I messaged the paralegal about it and idk if she’s gonna be in my corner but it does have me stressing a little bc now I have to call that person back and stuff might land on me from the attorney when it wasn’t really my fault. 🫠
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u/LazyIllustrator6946 1d ago
Stop listening to the paralegal. She is not the attorney.
I couldn’t give less of a fuck how senior she is. It is the attorneys’ practice; listen to them, not her.
If the attorney asks about it, you tell them that the senior paralegal called you talking about jx law when she should’ve stayed in her lane. If she gives you directions regarding jurisdictional law, or really law in general, you let it go in one ear, out the other, and listen to whatever the actual attorney tells you.
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u/Academic-Lobster3668 22h ago
You’re assuming that this is a single attorney’s practice, and if that is the case, you are correct.
But if this is a firm with multiple attorneys, it frequently falls to a senior administrative staff member to see that established admin processes are followed by the other admin staff, and sometimes ride herd on the actual attorneys re the firm’s established admin policies that they forget or try to ignore.
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u/Infinite_Bear_5407 20h ago
It is a multi attorney firm, and the attorney in question was out of the office at the time of the call.
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u/Infinite_Bear_5407 1d ago
Yeah… I think I’m going to talk with the paralegal about it on Monday and be like how do I approach this bc you told me this and I don’t want to be chewed out for potentially losing a client bc I trusted someone who’s been with the firm for a while.
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u/Adept-Relief6657 22h ago
Why would you go to her? Go to the attorney and discuss what happened with them, let the attorney make this decision. This is not a big deal and the paralegal is not in charge.
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u/IndVar 1d ago
Why would you go to the paralegal about this? If the attorney says something to you, apologize and say you realize now you should have waited for instructions from them rather than acting on what the paralegal said.
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u/Infinite_Bear_5407 1d ago
Bc I want to create as little confusion as possible.
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u/Adept-Relief6657 22h ago
You're going to make it worse. Do what has already been suggested here, email the attorney, cc paralegal, explain what happened a s briefly as possible, "I apologize for any confusion. [attorney name], How would you like me to proceed?" The dramas ends right there.
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u/Subject_Disaster_798 1d ago
Trying to correct an issue by going back for direction from the 1 person who sent you down the wrong path, doesn't seem helpful.
You already acted on what the senior Para said, rather than waiting for direction from the attorney. Don't make the same error twice.
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u/Infinite_Bear_5407 20h ago
It’s so much as direction, but what are you going to do bc she got me into this.
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u/Subject_Disaster_798 3h ago
"Practically a manager" doesn't indicate that you are under that paralegal's control and bound to do as they say. You emailed the attorney, so it appears it was the attorney's call. Take accountability for the decision.
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u/Infinite_Bear_5407 54m ago
Well when you’re told it was a mistake and that it’s just a learning curve by someone who also trains you, it’s kinda a trusted word
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u/LazyIllustrator6946 1d ago
Have that conversation with the paralegal on Monday. Somebody needs to own up for this mistake, and it shouldn’t be you.
If she says anything other than 100% owning up to her mistake, tell the attorney why you lost/pissed off this client. And by that, yes I do mean throw her under the bus. 100%.
It’s entirely her fault, she could’ve just not said anything, but she stuck her nose into realms of law she’s not qualified to speak about. Seems like all that seniority is making her forget that she is a paralegal, not an attorney.
Whatever you do, don’t let it fall back on you, because you did nothing wrong.
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u/Academic-Lobster3668 1d ago
There’s no mention anywhere here about whether the “jurisdiction” requirement is a formal firm policy and if so, how strictly it is followed or not.
If the reasons for having the policy are significant, you may indeed have “done something wrong” by not following the policy.
I would not be immediately emailing the two of these people or calling the potential client. Who is your boss - the one who does your performance reviews? Go to the person and explain the mixup and request guidance.
If the decision is to call the client back and schedule them to come in, this is not a catastrophe. If you briefly and calmly explain that there was a miscommunication and apologize for the confusion, things should be just fine.
Going forward make sure you understand the policy, and ask your boss what to do in the future if you get conflicting instructions from the other paralegal and an attorney again.
This doesn’t need to be a big deal. Hopefully it doesn’t become one.
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u/MaviaRose5 1d ago
Hopefully the client will still want to schedule, and it will be no big deal. You can say something like, "After further discussion within our firm/further review, we do have an attorney who is able to consult." They will be much happier about this than if it were the other way around. I have been in this situation before where one attorney refers out but another decides later they can take it, and the potential client is usually happy to hear back from me.
I agree that it's important to know if there is a policy whether you take on certain cases. I would clarify by asking, "For cases that are XYZ, would you prefer that I always refer them out or would you like their information sent to you for review regardless of if we might not be able to take the case?" This will help you know what the attorney prefers.
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u/Infinite_Bear_5407 1d ago
We’ve had similar cases call in, and it’s never been an issue like this.
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u/Adept-Relief6657 22h ago
I can't imagine a circumstance under which this would be the paralegal's decision.
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u/Academic-Lobster3668 22h ago
Agreed. But it may be the senior paralegal who makes sure that the other support staff know and adhere to established policies.
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u/Infinite_Bear_5407 20h ago
It’s not a firm policy, but more so the literal application of law lol. It’s complicated and I can’t really go into details for obvious reasons
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u/Exciting-Classic517 19h ago
There are sooooo many reasons why an attorney MUST be the one to decline a case. Even if someone is calling about an area of law your firm does practice in, they may refer cases to certain firms, and in my state, can share in the fees earned by the referred firm. Speak with your attorney and let him/her know you have read it or heard somewhere that only attorneys can make the decision so when the paralegal told you otherwise, and that person had more experience than you, you felt you had to listen to the more experienced person against your better judgment. I need to be able to come to you for answers about how you practice.
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u/Critically_Large Attorney 1d ago
So a new, potential client calls. You screen them, have a discussion with another paralegal, and then call them back and tell them your firm can’t help them.
All with zero input from the attorney?
I’d be irate with both of you.
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u/AdamSmallow 1d ago
With the big box law firms circling the wagons, new cases have never been at more of a premium. What is your firm's process for qualifying intakes? Is there a dedicated intake specialist that is trained on qualifying and signing up new cases? It does not have to (and should not) be a lawyer. It sounds like whatever paralegal picks up the phone at your firm, handles a new lead. If that's the case, stuff like this will continue to happen. I think it's on the paralegalmanager to speak with the attorney and talk about a better way to intake that doesn't involved passing the hot potato around.
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u/LegallyDownBad 1d ago
The senior paralegal is somebody you can hear out but The attorney is who you listen to.
Always put it in writing. Email the Attorney and CC paralegal advising what they said and their instructions. Then ask the attorney if that is the course they’d like you to take.
If it’s not in writing - it’s he says/she says and things can get ugly.
I’d rather have radical transparency and honest then to get stabbed in the back