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NMRA 20-108

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Rule 20-108 Duty to client.

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Rule Text

A lawyer is responsible to ensure that no personal, social or business interest or relationship of the paralegal impinges upon, or appears to impinge upon, the services rendered to the client.

Amendment history: Approved, effective September 1, 1981; as amended, effective January 30, 2004.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

Here's a plain English summary of this rule:

Lawyers must watch out for anything in a paralegal's life that could get in the way of doing right by the client. This includes personal relationships, social connections, or business ties the paralegal might have. It's the lawyer's job to catch these problems, not just the paralegal's.

The rule also covers situations that only look bad, even if nothing wrong is actually happening. If a paralegal's connection to someone could make a client question whether they're getting fair treatment, that's a problem the lawyer needs to fix. This protects clients from conflicts of interest they might not even know about, and it keeps trust in the legal process strong.

In short, lawyers can't just assume their paralegals are conflict free. They have to actively check for and prevent situations where a paralegal's outside relationships could affect the client's case, whether that effect is real or just something that looks suspicious from the outside.

Committee Notes

Committee commentary. — If a lawyer accepts a matter in which the paralegal may have a conflict of interest, the lawyer will exclude that paralegal from participation in any services performed in connection with that matter. Furthermore, the lawyer must specifically inform the client that a nonlawyer employee has a conflict of interest which, was it the lawyer's conflict, would prevent further representation of the client in connection with the matter. The nature of the conflict should be disclosed. The lawyer will caution the paralegal to inform the lawyer of any interest or association which might constitute or cause such a conflict, or which might give the appearance of constituting or causing such a conflict. In addition, no interest or loyalty of the paralegal may be permitted to interfere with the lawyer's independent exercise of professional judgment.