With respectto a nonlawyer employed or retained by or associatedwith a lawyer:
(a) apartner, and a lawyer who individually or together with other lawyers possessescomparable managerial authority in a law firm, shall make reasonable efforts toensure that the firm has in effect measures giving reasonable assurance thatthe person's conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of thelawyer;
(b)
(c)
(c)(1)
(c)(2)
Comment
[1] Paragraph(a) requires lawyers with managerial authority within a law firm to makereasonable efforts to ensure that the firm has in effect measures givingreasonable assurance that nonlawyers in the firm and
[1a] Utah?sComment [1] differs from the ABA Model Rule?s Comment [1]. The Model RuleComment suggests the possibility that a firm could be in violation of this Rulewithout an individual or group of individuals also being in violation. Utah?s Comment[1] makes clear that, even though the concept of firm discipline is possible, afirm should not be responsible in the absence of individual culpability for arule violation.
Nonlawyers
[2] Lawyersgenerally employ assistants in their practice, including secretaries,investigators, law student interns and paraprofessionals. Suchassistants, whether employees or independent contractors, act for the lawyer inrendition of the lawyer's professional services. A lawyer must give suchassistants appropriate instruction and supervision concerning the ethicalaspects of their employment, particularly regarding the obligation not todisclose information relating to representation of the client, and should beresponsible for their work product. The measures employed in supervising
Nonlawyers
[3] A lawyermay use nonlawyers outside the firm to assist thelawyer in rendering legal services to the client. Examples include theretention of an investigative or paraprofessional service, hiring a documentmanagement company to create and maintain a database for complex litigation,sending client documents to a third party for printing or scanning, and usingan Internet-based service to store client information. When using such servicesoutside the firm, a lawyer must make reasonable efforts to ensure that theservices are provided in a manner that is compatible with the lawyer?sprofessional obligations. The extent of this obligation will depend upon thecircumstances, including the education, experience and reputation of the
[4] Where theclient directs the selection of a particular nonlawyerservice provider outside the firm, the lawyer ordinarily should agree with theclient concerning the allocation of responsibility for monitoring as betweenthe client and the lawyer. See Rule 1.2. When making such an allocation in amatter pending before a tribunal, lawyers and parties may have additionalobligations that are a matter of law beyond the scope of these Rules.