Can Paralegals Conduct Settlement Conference?

Excerpts from the Paper

Can Paralegals Conduct Settlement Conference?
TO: Supervising Attorney
From: Paralegal
Date: 7/9/10
RE: Fred Northrop
Assignment
You asked me to find out if paralegals are allowed to make certain decisions on behalf of an attorney including whether to accept a case, and under what circumstances a paralegal can conduct a settlement conference in the state of California.
Facts
I have met with the client and decided to accept his case, as it appears he has a legitimate claim against his employer. However, in doing this I may have overstepped my authority and will now investigate whether paralegals can decide to accept cases and whether paralegals can conduct settlement conferences.
Issues
Can a paralegal interview clients for the purpose of...

.....ising lawyer.
The ruling in Davis v.
Woolridge
however suggests that despite relaxing the definition of “the practice of law” the state of California will still strongly enforce statutes against the unlawful practice of law.
Recommendation
I recommend that we proceed with my meetings with clients as long as certain responsibilities (setting fees, answering questions that are not approved by a supervising attorney) are no longer part of these meetings. However, I suggest we stop using any paralegals for negotiating settlement hearings, as penalties for misrepresenting violations are considerably harsher and can include being disbarred. In the future, no paralegal may be permitted to exercise the judgment of an attorney on behalf of a client.