The Pros And Cons Of Paralegals

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:

The Florida Paralegal Program was created in 2007, in order to regulate the paralegal profession in the state of the Florida. This program offers them a voluntary registration in this distingue organization, under the compromise to meet certain requirements such as education, certification, or work experience criteria, and also abide by a Code of Ethics and Responsibilities, all these based on the Chapter 20 of the Rules regulating the Florida Bar. Subsequently, these rules establish that a Florida Registered Paralegal is a paralegal who meets the requirements set out in Chapter 20 of the Rules regulating the Florida Bar. These rules designate that a paralegal is a person with education, training or work experience, who works under the direction of a member of The Florida Bar and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a member of The Florida Bar is responsible. However, there are certain differences, as well as pros and cons, between paralegals that are not registered under this rule and those who are, specifically on the following main points: work experience, education, and requirements to qualify.

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

Under the Alabama Code- Section 34-3-1 Unlawful Practice of Law states that any individual without having a license to practice law will be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not exceeding $500,00 or confined for a period not to surpass six months. [1]. The primary purpose of unauthorized practice of law statutes is to shield state residents from unskilled legal representation who are not been trained in the law and who are unable to recognize legal issues pertaining to the client’s situation. In this week’s forum Sally duties as a paralegal range from paperwork consisting of contracts, court motions and writing different legal agreements. There is an extensive list of things that paralegals are not able to do. One of the most important things

In some states UPL is not only criminalized in itself, but another charge of falsely claiming to be a lawyer even thought this is not how the paralegal intended the situation to turn out. In the innocence of trying to help out a friend by sharing their legal know how, they in turn can be persecuted, lose their jobs or even their careers. Any person of the public can put in their opinion about a legal situation, or tell a person what they think they should do and it would not be considered unauthorized practice of law. However, when a person is a paralegal, any spoken or written opinion about what a person should do in a legal situation can be considered UPL. Whether it is a friend, family member, or just someone a person knows, the situation stays the same. It is clear that only an attorney should provide legal counsel, legal representation or sign legal documents. A paralegal may do ninety percent of the work on a client’s case but in the end the attorney is the only one who can do these things. Polly Paralegal needs

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.

•Promoting pro bono work for those attorneys who are transitioning away from a paying client practice (with an initial focus on large law firm partners and counsel), and

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.

A paralegal is defined as a person trained in subsidiary legal matters but not completely qualified as a lawyer. A legal assistant is employed by a lawyer, law office, government agencies, or other entity to work under the direction of a licensed attorney. Becoming a legal assistant requires an associate’s degree or a certificate in legal assistant studies. A legal assistant can pass the test given by the National Association of Legal Assistants and be referred to as a Certified Legal Assistant. Once someone becomes a CLA they are required to take several hours of continuing educations to maintain their status. At Miller Motte some of the courses a person interested in becoming a legal assistant may include Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Law, Constitutional Law, Writing for Criminal Justice, and Criminal Law and Procedure. In some circumstances an attorney may hire a college graduate that has obtained a bachelor’s degree with no legal experience and allow them to learn on the job. Attorneys that specialize in Family Law, Business Law, Tax Law, and Bankruptcy Law are a few examples of the different attorney offices a legal assistant may be found.

What is a paralegal? Paralegals are a distinguishable group of persons who assist attorneys in the delivery of legal services. Through formal education, training, and experience, legal assistants have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and substantive and procedural law which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney. (The Paralegal Professional By Walter Lundstein, Esq. Pg 2) Being a paralegal comes with many responsibilities but most importantly code of ethics. One as a paralegal should always follow the National Federation of Paralegal Associations code of ethics (NFPA Code of Ethics) To follow these guidelines means to work in an honorable efficient manner. In the following paragraphs I will discuss various scenarios involving a paralegal working at a law firm and I will identify the ethical rules the paralegal and/ or the attorney violated and give some examples of how they could have avoided it.

Paralegals are employed in a wide variety of legal settings and play an ever-increasing role in the delivery of affordable and efficient legal services. However, regulation of paralegals has been non-existent or inconsistent, though the topic continues to be a significant issue. Across the country, paralegals advocate bar associations, state legislatures and courts to consider regulatory programs that go beyond merely defining the term "Paralegal." Federally required licensing of paralegals would benefit future growth and development of the career field and address the controversial issues surrounding it.

Paralegals are professionals who assist or support lawyers with their work (Westwood College). Supporting qualified lawyers includes a variety of tasks. When an attorney’s case goes to court, paralegals prepare motions and pleadings, in addition to organizing and cataloguing relevant trial documents (Westwood College). Paralegals also locate and interview witnesses; conduct investigations; conduct legal research; and summarize depositions, interrogatories and testimony (The National Association of Legal Assistants). In addition, the Business and Professions Code Section 6450(a) states that “Tasks performed by a paralegal include, but are not limited to, case planning, development, and management; legal research; interviewing clients;

Paralegals are also known as legal assistants. This is also one of the fastest-growing professions in law. Paralegals assist attorneys

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

I am very excited to learn about the paralegal position at the medical legal partnership program (MLP). I am currently a legal assistant at MLP. I have a law degree from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. I have also attained a Master’s Degree in the International Commerce and Policy program from Valparaiso University in Indiana. I have recently been accepted to the University of Washington for an LLM program. I believe both my educational and professional experiences along with my dedication to assist low-income clients make me a suitable candidate for this position.