Problem
Dean Downs has been working as a personal injury paralegal for a small law firm for six months. He specialized in litigation in paralegal school and has never worked in another law firm or done any other kind of legal work. One of the lawyers in the firm, Enid East, is handling an appeal of a criminal case pro bono. Enid asks Dean to prepare the appellate brief in the case. Dean does not know where to begin. What should he do? Dean finishes the draft brief and gives it to Enid to review. Enid does not have any experience in criminal work either and gives the brief a cursory look before she approves it for filing with the court. What should Dean do now? Has Enid breached any ethical duties? What if the brief is terrible and the client loses the appeal because they missed a legal argument? Does it matter that the client was not paying a fee.