BAEC Bulletin | July/August 2022 | 33
PARALEGAL CORNER Update on Paralegals and Access to Justice
Last June, I wrote a column entitled “Reimagining the Legal Team” which discussed the well-documented access to justice crisis in the United States and the current developments in using paralegals to solve that problem (click here to read). By access to justice, I mean the unmet civil legal needs of not just the poor, but the middle-class as well. Roughly 70 percent of civil and family cases include a party without a lawyer. 1 Although we assume that 70 percent is only “the poor,” in reality, 40-60% of the middle class have unmet legal needs, and according to the World Justice Project, in 2021 the U.S. ranked 126th out of 139 countries for accessibility to court and legal services. 2 As mentioned in my prior column, in early 2020, the ABA House of Delegates passed a resolution encouraging U.S. jurisdictions to “consider regulatory innovation” to improve access, affordability, and quality of legal services (without changing current ethical rules on the unauthorized practice of law). 3 One way states are approaching regulatory innovation is by examining and expanding the role of paralegals. As regular readers of this column know (but many lawyers are unaware), paralegal education can occur in community colleges or four-year-colleges, and can be quite rigorous, especially (but not only) when the program is approved by the American Bar Association, which requires substantive legal skills to be taught through courses like Legal Research and Writing, Litigation, Torts, and clinics and internships. So what are states currently doing? Here are some noteworthy efforts: • Utah: The Utah Supreme Court voted unanimously in 2020 to establish a regulatory sandbox to explore innovative approaches and partnerships to address the need for civil legal services, and last year extended the two year period to seven years (ending in 2021). 4 • Minnesota: The Minnesota Legal Paraprofessional Pilot Program started in March of 2021and allows paralegals to provide legal advice and representation, with attorney supervision, in family law and landlord-tenant matters. The
Minnesota Supreme Court hosted public hearings on suggestions to improve the program in May of 2022. 5 • Oregon: Oregon Supreme Court is considering a proposal that would allow trained and licensed paralegals to provide limited legal services in family law and landlord-tenant cases. 6 • Arizona: The Arizona Supreme Court adopted rules allowing Legal Paraprofessionals to provide legal services, and the first 10 applicants to the program were approved for licensure in November 2021. The Legal Paraprofessionals can provide legal services in four specific areas: family law, limited jurisdiction civil, limited jurisdiction criminal, and administrative law. Before applying for a license, these paraprofessionals must qualify with exams and a combination of legal experience and education. 7 And there are more than just state-led initiatives. The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System has launched “Allied Legal Professionals” project which seeks to “establish national best- practice thinking around allied legal professional programs” by analyzing existing innovative use of paralegal programs and devising recommendations for best practices. 8 In considering initiatives that expand the role of paralegals (or the use of social workers, as in New York 9 ), it behooves lawyers and policy-makers to become familiar with the rigorous education that has been developed by paralegal educators across the country (just take a quick look at the ABA Standing Committee on Paralegals). 10 •
MARGARET PHILLIPS, J.D. Associate Professor / Director Daemen College mphillip@daemen.edu
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