Reference no: EM133338256

Brenda Starr, a legal secretary, had been employed by Ray Shuran, a sole practitioner, for many years. Starr was Shuran's right arm. She performed management duties, secretarial duties, and some paralegal duties. He was extremely busy, and she worked late and most weekends. Shuran was concerned that Starr had too much work to do, so he employed a part-time law clerk to do research assignments. When the law clerk quit to pursue her own law practice, Shuran hired a paralegal to do research and the paralegal work currently performed by Starr.

When the new paralegal came to work, Starr automatically resented his presence. She resented that the paralegal was doing work that she used to do. She had a difficult time letting go of some of her responsibilities. When the paralegal requested clerical services, Starr would reluctantly provide them only if Shuran's work was completed. This conflict caused real tension in the office.

1. What is the reason for this conflict?

2. What could Shuran do to remedy the situation?

3. If you were the new paralegal, how would you handle the problem?

4. If you were Starr, how would you handle the problem?

5. How could this problem have been prevented?