As a Paralegal, is it ethical to read over a contract for a family member?

[SINIB]

Jurisdiction

Maryland

A relative of mine has been pressing me to read over their contract in order to check if a provision the company she's contracted with is claiming to exist. I told them no, as it would constitute unauthorized practice of law because of my AA in paralegal studies. Am I incorrect in this assessment, as I would obviously prefer to help them however possible?

 

[adjusterjack]

You are correct. Analyzing and advising on contractual matters by a non-lawyer is the unauthorized practice of law.

Suggest to your relative that she register on this site, upload a copy of the contract (redacting identifying information), provide some background on the arrangement, and ask her questions.

There are a couple of attorneys here (and others) who may be able to provide helpful comments.

That keeps you out of trouble and in good graces with your relative.

 

[Tax Counsel]

A relative of mine has been pressing me to read over their contract in order to check if a provision the company she's contracted with is claiming to exist. I told them no, as it would constitute unauthorized practice of law because of my AA in paralegal studies. Am I incorrect in this assessment, as I would obviously prefer to help them however possible?

Giving your relative specific legal advice regarding the contract would constitute the unauthorized practice of law (UPL). Whether that is what would be called for her depends on exactly what he/she is asking you to do and why. For example, if your relative has trouble reading English and is asking something like whether the contract has an arbitration provision in it you should be fine reading it and pointing out where the arbitration provision is, if there is one. On the other hand, if he/she is asking you to interpret a provision in the contract to see if what the company claims it says is accurate that's almost certainly going be a UPL problem.

 

[zddoodah]

A relative of mine has been pressing me to read over their contract in order to check if a provision the company she's contracted with is claiming to exist.

I'm not sure I understand the phrase that starts with "in order." She wants to you to check if a particular provision exists in the contract? Something else?

I told them no, as it would constitute unauthorized practice of law because of my AA in paralegal studies.

It wouldn't constitute unauthorized practice of law because of your paralegal studies. If what she's asking you to do is UPL, it would be because you're not a lawyer.

Am I incorrect in this assessment

You're going to need to clarify exactly what she's asking you to do before anyone can intelligently answer this question.

 

[SINIB]

they want me to go through the contract and go over the provisions for them to see if they have a case against them

 

[zddoodah]

they want me to go through the contract and go over the provisions for them to see if they have a case against them

Pronoun game! Yikes.

So...your relative wants you to review the contract and advise her (right?) has some sort of valid legal claim against the other party to the contract?

If so, that's not something that anyone other than a lawyer should be doing.

 

[Tax Counsel]

they want me to go through the contract and go over the provisions for them to see if they have a case against them

That's now calling for a legal opinion regarding the strength of the company's legal case against your relative and that is clearly something only a licensed attorney may do. You'd engage in the UPL doing that. Moreover, you risk hurting your relative's legal position since as a paralegal you almost certainly lack the training and experience to give that advice.