An Attorney Is Representing the Plaintiff in an Environmental Law

An attorney is representing the plaintiff in an environmental law case. She deposed a third-party witness about the witness's knowledge of the defendant's use of the property for storage of chemicals used in a tanning operation. The witness, who is a friend of the defendant, testified that he was employed by the defendant in the tanning operation and that the defendant's environment safety procedures always exceeded government regulations. The attorney believes that the witness is lying, but has not obtained any evidence to the contrary. The attorney's paralegal calls the witness on the telephone and claims to be an accident investigator from the union to which the witness belongs. The paralegal then begins asking questions about occupational safety and hazardous waste at the tanning operation, and the witness says that chemicals were spilled on at least two occasions inside the plant and that byproduct chemicals were sometimes dumped in the field behind the plant. When he heard about the paralegal's call, the attorney is pleased and said, "Good job." Is the attorney subject to any disciplinary action for the paralegal's conduct?

A) Yes, because the attorney engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
B) Yes, because a supervising attorney can be responsible for conduct of a non-attorney employee that violates the Model Rules.
C) No, because a supervising attorney cannot be responsible for conduct of a non-attorney employee that violates the Model Rules.
D) No, because the paralegal did not obtain authorization from the attorney before making the call to the witness.

Correct Answer:

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