INTRODUCTION
Four states offer paralegal certifications and two states offer document preparer certifications through their State Bar Associations. These states authorize a certification examination to educationally qualified paralegals or legal assistants, however, certification is not required in these states to work as a paralegal. After successful completion of the examination the Bar Associations authorize the paralegal to use the title of “Certified Paralegal.”
The concept of a “certified paralegal” being superior to a paralegal is erroneous, giving the misleading impression of non-existent qualifications.
Certified paralegals undertake excessive recurring costs, expensive educational requirements, recertification examinations fees, mandatory seminars with additional educational courses to obtain certification. The certification fails to provide the certified paralegal with any unique abilities not available to non-certified paralegals including higher salaries. All paralegals must work under the supervision of an attorney, excluding document preparers who are permitted to prepare specific documentation without supervision. But certified paralegals, document preparers, and non-certified paralegals are not permitted to practice law or give legal advice. All states and the federal government statutorily bar the unauthorized practice of law (UPL) by paralegals or anyone else not a member of the Bar Association, therefore, the costs, programs, and title of “certified
Courts generally have held that a paralegal and or legal assistant can achieve the objectives of communication and to provide potential clients with information concerning legal fees and representation if instructed by the supervising attorney. However, a paralegal and or legal assistant cannot provide a potential client with legal advices, accept cases, appear in court, and or provide decision(s) to the case(s). Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Morgan Joseph Hallmon, 343 Md. 390; 681 A.2d 510; 1996, a District of Columbia attorney employed his wife, Carole Cloud who is a law school graduate and is not admitted to practice law in any jurisdiction. Carole was hired as Office Manager, Coordinator, and Law Clerk of the firm. She performed legal work for a client of the firm, which mostly were reviewed and approved by the supervising attorneys Morgan Joseph Hallmon and Eric Cloud, her husband. Attorney Hallmon had given Ms. Cloud full responsibility of handling the case in which he has been kept aware and up to date with the proceedings and details of the case. The court stated:
Since paralegals can only work under the supervision of an attorney, by doing the opposite may be consider an unauthorized practice of law, so paralegals must avoid assisting in the unlicensed practice of
Platt College Riverside have made these representations without reasonable ground for believing them to be true, and knew and continued to, whether by words or by conduct, by false or misleading assertions that, the paralegal associates program completion was a condition of availability to the paralegal bachelors program in
In order to complete this assignment we must first recognize what Unauthorized Practice of Law is when it comes to paralegals. There is no set definition on what UPL is but as a paralegal there are guidelines to go by. Some ways they can violate the practice of law would be an individual holding themselves as an attorney when they are paralegals, giving legal advice as an attorney would, or representing clients in a court of law. All of the previous are violations and can be subject to several disciplinary actions [ (Unauthorized Practice of Law, 2010) ]. It has been named illegal due to the damages on may suffer due to bad legal advice. In some states it is considered a criminal offense and could be given a jail sentence.
Detlor Paralegal Services will always put clients needs first and obey the Paralegal Rules of Conduct. The business will never skimp on quality when it comes to work and will advocate for clients as effectively as possible. Client satisfaction will also be of high importance, and if a client is unsatisfied, the business will always do what it takes to satisfy them as much as
One way to correct this imbalance is to allow fully qualified paralegal specialists represent personal injury plaintiffs independent of constant lawyer supervision. This proposal allows personal injury paralegal specialists represent, and negotiate settlements on behalf of, their own clients.
Paralegals can lead to a career path. Since they lead attorneys to trials, they mainly know the work of an attorney. So if a paralegal want to go to law school and be an attorney or lawyers, they already will know the work and what
It is a task in itself for one, such as myself, to allow another to fully grasp the principle of why I want to become a paralegal, let alone explain it within three pages without simply stating, “I desire to use the set of skills and passion that I possess in order to help others while working within this specific field of law.” Nevertheless, the reality of the fact is that it is purely the essence and core of why I have the drive and determination to work towards becoming a paralegal.
A person considering joining a paralegal work field should have at least an associates or bachelor’s degree, be very organized, and committed. Life of a Paralegal Paralegals and lawyers play a huge role to any lawyer they are working for. According to one source, “the typical work of a lawyer’s assistant or paralegal would be doing client interviews, drafting legal documents, reviewing pertinent case law, summarizing legal proceedings, and regular office work”(Siegel, Worrall, 2015, p. 169). The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that depending on what firm you may work for “Paralegals would also be in charge of maintaining the schedule of their attorney, conduct research on relevant laws, regulations, and legal articles. Paralegals would also write or summarize reports to help lawyers prepare for trials, gathering information that may be used as evidence in court, taking notes, or reviewing trial transcripts, file exhibits, briefs, appeals and other legal
“Some in the profession argue that since paralegals are supervised by attorneys, there is no need for mandatory licensure, certification, or registration. Others contend that since paralegals are trained to assist in the delivery of complex legal services, there should be a mandatory competence credential in order to protect the public.” (2001)
Chere Estrin has been writing this blog since 2005. She's been a founder for magazines and associations within the paralegal industry where she's a passionate advocate for those in the field. She's written Paralegal Career Guide along with her posts. Categories on the blog range from advertising, aviation law and bankruptcy law to IRS, identity theft and jury selection. http://estrinlegaled.typepad.com/my_weblog/
If I were to become a paralegal in the future, the area of law that draws my attention the most is family law. One of the main reasons why I have chosen family law, I will be helping people through a difficult time in their lives. Let's face it, relationships are difficult even when everything's going great it can still be exhausting let alone during a divorce or a domestic violence case. Where they have to worry about who’s going to have custody of their kids and with the stress of everything they've worked for being taken away by their passed “loved” one. Sometimes they’ll even have to worry about their own safety as well. I'll receive a great deal of satisfaction knowing I am there to assistance them actually making a difference in that person’s by guiding them thought out this time of distress. Helping people is great and everting however job stability is very important to me as well, as long as there’s disputes between people I’ll never be out of the job static show about half of the people you'll ever know will go through a divorce and “20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States during one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men” so in conclusion I do not think I’ll be going anywhere soon.
In order to be a paralegal there is certain terminology that you need to learn to understand the legal aspects of the cases that you deal with. Also when talking to a client it is important to know what you are talking about and sound professional. Paralegals need to be informed on legal terms and, depending on the type of law you work in, it is important to be proficient in the area of law. An example would be if you are working with a public defender or prosecutor, you would need to be familiar with
Each state's regulations are unique and employers' requirements vary widely due to the many kinds of work that paralegals can do (National Federation of Paralegal Associations, 2012). It takes a lot of hard work and really knowing your legalese to be a great paralegal, and I am going to study very hard to get there.
corporation itself. These in-house law departments are usually headed by the general counsel, who acts as the chief attorney. On average, there are about seventeen attorneys and five paralegals per corporate law department. The paralegals typically have high pay and very good benefits. They do not have many clerical tasks to complete, and a career ladder for paralegals exists. They tend to have a narrowly defined role in corporate law departments.