Paralegal

Lore & Background

A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks requiring knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a licensed lawyer. The role was formally endorsed in the United States by the American Bar Association (ABA) in 1967, with a dedicated committee established the following year. The ABA later amended its definition, removing the term "legal assistant" and describing a paralegal as a person qualified by education, training, or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity to perform delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. The market for paralegals is broad, encompassing consultancies, companies with legal departments, and entities involved in legislative and regulatory compliance in areas such as environment, labor, intellectual property, zoning, and tax. Legal offices and public bodies also employ many paralegals under various titles. Work experiences range from internships and entry-level positions to senior-level roles. Paralegals may analyze and summarize depositions, prepare and answer interrogatories, conduct document review, draft procedural motions and routine briefs, perform legal research and analysis, and handle case and project management. They often draft paperwork in probate, divorce, bankruptcy, and investigation cases. Consumers are typically billed for paralegal time. In the United States, paralegals are generally not authorized to offer legal services or advice, nor are they officers of the court, though some jurisdictions, such as Washington State, have created licensed designations like Limited License Legal Technician to allow limited practice in high-need areas like family law and landlord-tenant law. In Ontario, Canada, paralegals are licensed and regulated similarly to lawyers and may appear before lower courts and administrative tribunals.

Reader's Guide

Paralegals play a significant role in the legal system by handling tasks such as analyzing and summarizing depositions, preparing interrogatories, conducting document review, drafting procedural motions and routine briefs, performing legal research, and managing cases. Consumers of legal services are typically billed for the time paralegals spend on their cases. In the United States, paralegals are protected from some forms of professional liability because they work as an enhancement of an attorney, who takes ultimate responsibility for their work. Recently, some US and Canadian jurisdictions have created a new profession where experienced paralegals are being licensed, with or without attorney supervision, to allow limited scope of practice in high-need areas such as family law, bankruptcy, and landlord-tenant law, in an effort to combat the access-to-justice crisis. The education, experience, testing, and scope of practice requirements vary widely across jurisdictions, as do the titles used, including Limited License Legal Technician, Licensed Paralegals, and Licensed Paraprofessionals.

Did You Know?

• In some jurisdictions, such as Ontario, Canada, paralegals are licensed and regulated the same way as lawyers and may appear before certain lower courts and administrative tribunals.
• Paralegals generally are not allowed to offer legal services independently in most jurisdictions, but some US and Canadian jurisdictions have created licensed limited-scope practitioners to address the access-to-justice

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