NFPA Press Release

Lesley Cox, RP
Vice President and Director of Position and Issues
VPPI@paralegals.org

Awarding of Paralegal Fees Affirmed in New York Case

The National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) is pleased to note that on May 7, 2002, the New York State Court of Appeals affirmed the Order of the Appellate Division permitting the reimbursement for paralegal services in capital cases. In its ruling, the Court adopted much of the argument made in the amicus brief filed by Lawrence Villardo of Connors & Villardo, Buffalo, New York, on behalf of NFPA. Mr. Villardo comments,"The Court recognized the realities of today's legal marketplace and explicitly acknowledged the role that paralegals play in delivering legal services."

The Court held as follows:

The interpretation of the statute that allows for inclusion of legal and paralegal assistance better comports with the realities of law firm practice and economics, and better "ensure[s] that qualified attorneys are available to represent capital defendants." (Judiciary Law §35-b [5] [a]). Any moderately complex litigation, much less a capital case, will require less experienced attorneys capable of handling discrete legal tasks and non-attorney paralegal assistance. It is not unusual for experienced counsel to delegate more routine tasks to supervised staff attorneys and paralegals, thus avoiding the hourly fees of highly experienced counsel where less expensive assistance will suffice.

Continuing, the court wrote:

Notwithstanding defendants' argument that legal and paralegal assistance costs were intended to be "subsumed" within fees for lead and associate counsel -- a proposition not reflected in the statute -- utilizing subordinate staff for appropriate tasks at a lesser cost could very likely result in savings, as opposed to the "windfall" defendants assume will take place. That reasonably necessary legal and paralegal assistance should be compensated within the schedule of fees for capital counsel is an eminently reasonable interpretation of the statute.

The court concluded:

Defendants also argue that by allowing subordinate staff to work on capital cases, the statutory intent of providing qualified counsel to capital defendants will be frustrated as these assistants would not have met the statutory minimum standards for qualified representation. This argument is unpersuasive. The fact that qualified capital counsel may delegate certain more routine tasks -- thereby freeing themselves to focus on matters that require the expertise needed to defend a capital case competently -- is not to be discouraged and clearly goes to the very heart of the intent behind Judiciary Law § 35-b.

Notes Lesley Cox, RP, NFPA's Vice President and Director of Positions and Issues, "Throughout the years, NFPA has provided research and filed amicus briefs on matters that affect the paralegal profession. Mahoney v. Pataki is just one of the cases in which NFPA has been involved on behalf of paralegals."

Cox notes that NFPA stands ready to help its colleagues in the paralegal profession. She says, "If you need assistance in helping to collect paralegal fees or in other matters affecting the profession, such as conflict of interest, delegation of duties, or ethics, contact NFPA at (816) 941-4000 or e-mail VPPI@paralegals.org."

Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, NFPA is a non-profit professional organization representing more than 15,000 paralegals in the United States and Canada. NFPA is the national voice and the Standard for Excellence for the paralegal profession through its work on the issues of regulation, ethics and education.