NFPA Policy Manual

COMMITTEE - LEGISLATIVE
82-25
Vote Tally: 22-Y, 0-N, 1-A
Association:
STATUS: Adopted

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Federation of Paralegal Associations hereby establishes a standing committee, to be named the Legislative Committee, and to be comprised of competent and qualified individuals from NFPA member associations across the nation, for the purpose of:

1. Gathering and maintaining information regarding proper decorum and procedures for appearances before a legislative body;
2. Developing guidelines and procedures for appearances before a legislative body;
3. Gathering and maintaining testimony regarding paralegals before legislative bodies;
4. Drafting or assisting to draft legislation pertaining to paralegals, on behalf of the NFPA or its member associations;
5. Appearing before the legislative bodies on behalf of the NFPA or its member associations;
6. Distributing any of the above types of information to NFPA member associations for their utilization before legislative bodies.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President shall appoint in the first year with the advice of the Board and the approval of the membership, a person from each Region of the NFPA and a person from the Washington, D.C. area to sit on said Legislative Committee for a period of two years; and, in the second year, the President shall appoint with the advice of the Board and the approval of the membership, another person from each Region of the NFPA and another person from the Washington, D.C. area to sit on said committee for a period of two years; and thereafter, vacancies on the committee will be filled in the same manner already described; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislative Committee shall act upon the directions of the NFPA Board of Directors, within the policies established by the membership, and in the best interests of the Federation; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in the first year, the Legislative Committee will develop guidelines to govern the operation and procedures of that committee, and will submit those guidelines to the membership for their comments and subsequently for their approval.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NFPA Legislative Committee in the 1985-86 year research the benefits of and procedures for having a registered lobbyist in each state;

FURTHER RESOLVED, that included in that study will be an analysis of the feasibility of having an NFPA representative registered as a lobbyist in each state versus the feasibility of hiring professional lobbyist who would present NFPA interest;

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislative Committee will give a report to NFPA members by February 1, 1986 outlining the procedures, costs involved and benefits of registered state lobbyist.

RESOLVED that the Legislative Committee be expanded to include three (3) representatives from each region.

RESOLVED, that the Board approve the proposal to continue using Dechert, Price & Rhoads for the legislative monitoring service for the 1990-1991 fiscal year.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NFPA form an ad hoc committee that shall consist of no less than two representatives from each region, and will be chaired by Cleveland with the following associations participating: Sacramento, Oregon, Washington, Orange County, Rocky Mountain, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Delaware, Wisconsin, Rochester, and Long Island.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Ad Hoc Committee prepare a proposal to include the following:

1. Define limited licensure (limited licensure of a paralegal/legal assistant is the process by which a governmental agency grants authority to non-lawyers to assume roles which are customarily, but not exclusively, performed by lawyers);
2. Recommend policy concerning limited licensure;
3. Develop guidelines for local associations to enable an educated response to limited licensure on a state level.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Ad Hoc Committee shall present the foregoing information in draft form no later than the regional meetings in October, 1988 for discussion and comments;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a final draft of the policy concerning limited licensure and guidelines will be presented at the 1989 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon.

RESOLVED, that the report submitted by the Ad Hoc Committee on Limited Licensure be approved for distribution with the understanding that amendments will be made to reflect the final resolutions to be passed at the Annual Meeting.

RESOLVED: That an Ad Hoc Committee be established for 1984-1985 for the purpose of developing an NFPA Policy Manual to be used in conjunction with the NFPA's existing Procedures Manual. The Policy Manual shall include minutes of all past NFPA Meetings of its Members, actions of its members without a meeting, and copies of all past and current NFPA policy statements.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the life of the Committee be extended for the 1985-1986 year.

RESOLVED that the Policy Manual Committee be and hereby is sunset, as it's charge has been completed.

WHEREAS, one of the goals of the NFPA which was reaffirmed at the Ninth Annual Meeting is a commitment to developing ways to provide quality legal services to the poor; and

WHEREAS, local associations presently have no guidance or assistance from NFPA regarding pro bono program;

BE IT RESOLVED: That NFPA establish a Pro Bono committee to conduct an informal survey of local associations to determine what, if anything, they are doing in the area of Pro Bono work and to set up model programs for use by local associations who express an interest in pro bono work.

FURTHER RESOLVED: That the committee be available as a resource to give assistance to local pro bono projects.

RESOLVED, that the NFPA restructure the Pro Bono Committee to be made up of one person as Coordinator, who will then create a Committee made up of members-at-large, as needed, to assist with special projects of the Committee; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Pro Bono Coordinator shall be a liaison between the NFPA and the ABA and other associations to promote the utilization of paralegals in pro bono programs, to give guidance and assistance to local associations regarding pro bono programs and to further the NFPA goal of developing ways to provide quality legal services to the poor; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the term of office shall be one (1) year and that each Region through the Regional Director shall solicit nominations for the position. The nominees' names and credentials shall be presented to the membership at the Annual Meeting for election. The nominee with the most votes shall be NFPA choice as Pro Bono Coordinator.

BE IT RESOLVED, that at the request of the Board of Directors, the Pro Bono Committee is hereby abolished.

RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of the Federation establish a special committee consisting of one representative from each region to develop general guidelines for the definition of a paralegal.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that such committee develop and present a draft of these guidelines to the membership of the Federation for comments and approval no later than by the 1979 Annual Meeting.

RESOLVED, that the Professional Development Committee of the NFPA prepare policy statements which would be available to assist any member association, at the option of such local association, in responding to Bar association proposed guidelines.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Professional Development Committee continue to study the issue of bar guidelines dealing with the employment of paralegals; that the Professional Development Committee consider the premises, concerns and recommendations contained in the "Guideline Letter" attached hereto as Exhibit A*; and that the Professional Development Committee develop a Federation policy regarding bar guidelines to be submitted for approval by the Federation members at its Tenth Annual Meeting. [not included with the Minutes.]

RESOLVED, the National Federation of Paralegal Associations establish a resource center of information of paralegal import to be kept in a central location for access by all NFPA members.

FURTHER RESOLVED the resource center would include information on statutory law, case law and reports on issues of paralegal import, including such topics as, but not limited to, UPL, Attorney Work Product, Privilege Application to Paralegal Work, Conflict of Interest, Paralegal Fee Awards, Paralegal Overtime Compensation, Paralegal Malpractice, and NonLawyer Practice.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Professional Development Committee be charged with the gathering and indexing of material to create such a resource center.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Texas Board of Specialization's Legal Assistant Specialty Certification Examination program warrants investigative study by NFPA; BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that a subcommittee on Specialization be created under the auspices of the Professional Development Committee to study and report to NFPA on specialization. The subcommittee is directed to prepare an interim report back to NFPA member associations at NFPA's 1994 Mid-Year Meeting, with a final report to NFPA member associations at NFPA's 1995 Annual Meeting.

RESOLVED, that a Professional Responsibility Committee be established as a standing committee. The duties of the Professional Responsibility Committee shall include:

1. The periodic review and preparation of draft revisions of the NFPA Affirmation of Professional Responsibility;
2. To study the feasibility of developing an ethics examination as a membership requirement;
3. To research the enforceability of a Federation Code of Ethics;
4. To develop a training program for Member associations to present the ethical responsibilities of legal assistants in the delivery of legal services.
5. To monitor developments in the field and to write opinions, subject to Board approval, on individual questions involving ethical propriety (example: Kentucky attorney charged with contempt for sending paralegal to trial setting conference);
6. To review developments in related fields and report to members.

RESOLVED that the Professional Responsibility Committee be charged to solicit and compile comments regarding the attached Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility from the NFPA membership, and from individuals with expertise in the area of ethical standards who shall be referred to this Committee by NFPA member associations.

External distribution shall be under cover of a letter which shall clearly state the draft model is "CONFIDENTIAL NOT NFPA POLICY, NOT FINAL NFPA WORK PRODUCT, AND NOT FOR FURTHER DISTRIBUTION."

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the process of soliciting and compiling such comments shall be overseen by the NFPA Vice President-Policy;

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Professional Responsibility Committee shall complete the process of compiling all comments and distribute to the NFPA membership a revised draft Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility with a summary of pertinent concerns and comments for consideration at the 1992 Mid-Year Meeting.

SCHEDULE: June 1 - Recommendation on external distribution due to Co-Chair of Professional Responsibility Committee (LACO)
June 15 - Comments due to Co-Chair of Professional Responsibility Committee (Cleveland)
July 1 - Response from Experts due to Committee Chairs

RESOLVED, that Resolution 92-3, the charge to the Professional Responsibility Committee, is hereby amended as follows:

RESOLVED, that the NFPA Professional Responsibility Committee ("the Committee") shall revise and refine the draft Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility ("the Draft Code") based upon its research and comments made by NFPA member associations and selected persons outside NFPA who have familiarity with or expertise in the area of ethical standards; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Committee shall solicit and compile further comments regarding the revised Draft Code from the NFPA membership, from selected persons outside NFPA who have familiarity with or expertise in the area of ethical standards, and from members of the Conclave. Said distribution of the revised Draft Code to individuals and entities other than NFPA members shall be conditioned the following restrictions:

External distribution shall be under cover of a letter which shall clearly state the revised Draft Code if "CONFIDENTIAL: NOT NFPA POLICY-DISTRIBUTION"; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NFPA Vice President-Policy shall oversee process of soliciting and compiling such comments;

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the committee shall compile all comments, finalize the Draft Code and distribute a revised Draft Code to the NFPA membership with a summary of pertinent concerns and comments for consideration at the 1993 Annual Meeting as set forth in the schedule below:

SCHEDULE FOR COMPLETION:

• October-November 1, 1992: Distribute the revised Draft Code to all NFPA Primary and Secondary Representatives and Association Presidents for review and comments;
• 30 days-November 30: Comments due from Primary and Secondary Representatives to the Committee (Co-Chair: Cleveland);
• November 15, 1992: Distribute revised Draft Code (incorporating comments and revisions of Primaries) to selected persons outside NFPA who have familiarity with or expertise in this area of ethical standards for review and comment;
• January 1, 1993: Distribute revised Draft Code (incorporating comments and revisions of "experts") to NFPA Board and Primaries for review and comments;
• January 31, 1993: Comments due from NFPA Board and Primaries to the Committee (Co-Chair: Cleveland);
• February 15, 1993: Submit formal Agenda Topic, Resolution and final Draft Code (with report) for consideration at the 1993 Annual Meeting in Buffalo, New York;
• February 15, 1993: Distribute the Committee's final work product to the NFPA President and Vice President-Policy for distribution to all Conclave members in order that it may be included on the agenda and discussed at the formal meeting of the Conclave in March, 1993.

RESOLVED, that the National Federation of Paralegals ("NFPA") hereby adopts the Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility ("Model Code") as the standard for the ethical conduct of the paralegal profession and approves said Model Code for publication and distribution to individuals and entities outside NFPA; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that NFPA hereby encourages member associations to adopt the Model Code, in whole, in part or as otherwise modified, as appropriate and necessary to meet the needs in their particular jurisdiction; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that NFPA hereby approves the Report of the Professional Responsibility Committee dated March 15, 1993 for distribution to individuals and entities outside NFPA; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NFPA Affirmation of Professional Responsibility is hereby superseded by the Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Professional Responsibility Committee shall be renamed and known as the "Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility".

RESOLVED, to create an Ad Hoc Committee to study the feasibility of developing a model proficiency-based examination for the paralegal profession.

It was duly moved and seconded that an ad-hoc Wage and Hour Committee be established.

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