How to handle a forged attorney's signature

[Jordan.barr]

I'm a few years into working as a paralegal, and I've seen my fair share of weird, shady, and sloppy paperwork but this one surprised me. We were reviewing a set of filings from a client side rep (not part of our firm), and something about the attorney's signature on one of the documents had been forged. Not by the attorney, obviously, but someone trying to rush the process through without proper authorization, well no one got hurt legally in this case, and it got caught before filing, but it definitely raised a red flag and made me think twice about how easily this kind of thing could slip by if you're not paying close attention.
How do you approach situations where it's not obviously malicious, but still crosses a serious line? do you escalate it immediately, or try to confirm quietly first?

 

[louisLIT]

Thats a tough spot. Even if it’s not clearly malicious forging a signature crosses a serious line. I’d say always confirm quietly first to be sure but once you have reason to believe its legit escalate it. Better to be safe and protect the integrity of the work small things like that can lead to big issues if missed

 

[yeobo17]

Don't be afraid to tell the attorney, this isn't on you. Its important to speak up sooner rather than later so the issue can be addressed before it becomes a bigger problem.