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Under California Business and Professions Code Section 6450(a), a paralegal in California must work under the direction and supervision of an active member of the State Bar of California or an attorney practicing law in the federal courts in California

A flat fee is a fixed amount that constitutes complete payment for the performance of described services regardless of the amount of work ultimately involved. Payment must be paid in whole to the lawyer providing those services.

You work as a paralegal in a workers’ compensation law firm.  The lawyer you work for has approximately 300 files they are working on.  You have worked for the lawyer for a number of years and can pretty well predict the dollar amount for which most of the cases will settle.  To help your boss, you take a call from a Farmer’s Insurance adjuster who explains that the most your firm’s client can obtain is $15,000.  You know that this will be within the attorney’s acceptable amount and go ahead a request settlement documents.  Since your boss was in court, you went ahead and emailed them to the client with a detailed email asking them to review the terms of the proposed settlement.  The client signed and returned them and you forwarded the signed documents to Farmers.  You have not committed UPL.  

A “running balance” is the amount the lawyer has in an account after you add in all the deposits (including interest earned, etc.) and subtract all the money paid out (including bank charges for items like wire transfers, etc.).

Personal and substantial participation may occur when, the lawyer participated through decision, recommendation, or the rendering of advice on a particular case or matter.

In aggregate settlements, each client must give informed written consent.

A person who makes a false statement in connection with that person’s own application for admission to practice law may be subject to discipline after that person has been admitted.

“Competence” in any legal service means to apply the learning and skill, and mental, emotional, and physical ability reasonably necessary for the performance of such service.

In representing a client, or in terminating or refusing to accept the representation of any client, a lawyer shall not unlawfully retaliate against persons.

In Rule 3.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer shall not unlawfully obstruct another party’s access to evidence, including a witness, or unlawfully alter, destroy or conceal a document or other material having potential evidentiary value. A lawyer can legally counsel or assist another person to do such acts.