Introduction
The paralegal/lay advocacy movement has its roots in the 1960s when formal programs were started in public service agencies for the purpose of training individuals to assist in making legal services available to the poor. Private law firms, business, and governmental agencies quickly recognized the benefits of employing specially trained individuals to provide services at a lower rate, benefitting the client and increasing efficiency. Since its inception, the paralegal profession has consistently experienced growth, both in the number of paralegals currently practicing and in the type and level of responsibilities.
Recognizing the need to make legal services more widely available to the general public, paralegals have expanded their practice into many broad and diverse specialties. The demand for expertise has led many paralegals to develop knowledge and skills in highly technical or specialized subject areas. Paralegals differ in their backgrounds, experience, training, and responsibilities. Paralegals place great importance on service, flexibility, openness to new approaches of handling client needs, and diverse job definitions. These attributes have allowed the profession to maintain a client and public interest focus, to demonstrate a willingness to grow, and to change in response to the demands of society.
National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc.
The National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (NFPA) was created in 1974 by a group of eight local paralegal associations to assist the paralegal profession in building a communications network and to provide direction for future development. NFPA was formed as a non-profit federation composed of local and state level paralegal associations as well as individual members. As the profession continues to grow, so does NFPA.
Since its formation, NFPA has monitored legislation, case law opinions, and research reports on various issues that might affect the paralegal profession. When necessary, it has filed testimony with state and federal legislative bodies, presented position statements with national legal organizations, and filed amicus briefs with courts throughout the United States.
Designed as a grass-roots organization, NFPA is an issues-oriented, policy-driven association directed by its membership. Individuals and representatives from the member associations can become involved with NFPA by working on special projects, serving on a committee, or running for election to the Board of Directors positions.
Issues that will impact the paralegal profession can be raised by any member. When an issue is raised, it is usually assigned to a committee for research and analysis. Based on its findings, the committee may present a report to the entire membership for consideration and review. Delegates from local associations will then discuss the issues at one of the two national meetings held each year. NFPA uses a democratic process of discussion, debate, and voting at these meetings. Each local association, regardless of its size, has one vote. All newly-adopted policy positions must be passed by a two-thirds majority vote.
NFPA has grown from the original eight charter members to more than 55 associations, located throughout the United States, Canada, and England, and to more than 17,000 members. This membership reflects a broad diversity of experience, education, and job responsibilities. Throughout its history, NFPA has recognized and met its commitment to examine issues and explore new and innovative means by which legal services and moderate cost may be made more generally available.
Computers, law-related databases, and electronic reference sources will continue to have an impact on both the amount of information available and how services are provided. NFPA is working to ensure that paralegals have a powerful on-ramp to the information superhighway and continues to add materials and reference sources at its home page on the Internet (http://www.paralegals.org). NFPA will continue to assist the profession in verifying and expanding the role of the paralegal and responding to issues and events from professional legal organizations and other groups.
Due to the explosive growth over the past three decades and the substantial increase and expansion in roles and responsibilities, the paralegal profession has further refined its position within the legal community.
As defined by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, a paralegal/legal assistant is a person qualified through education, training or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity or may be authorized by administrative, statutory or court authority to perform this work.
NFPA agrees with the position of the American Bar Association (ABA) that the titles "paralegal" and "legal assistant" are interchangeable; however, NFPA prefers the title "paralegal." NFPA's definition, although quite broad in nature, reflects the diversity of its membership and of the profession.
Over the past ten years, the profession has evolved to the point that the title "paralegal" has needed, in certain circumstances, further interpretation. Basically, there are three general categories of paralegal practice. The supplementary titles and interpretational information generally used are:
Special Advocate: A paralegal who is authorized to participate in court proceedings involving specified classes of parties or cases. The special advocate may be referred to as a "court appointed special advocate" (CASA).
Agency Representative: A paralegal who is authorized by statute or agency rule to represent clients in agency proceedings.
The foregoing terms are not all inclusive of the titles used within the paralegal profession but are meant to provide a general overview of the evolution experienced by the profession in recent years.
Traditional paralegals constitute a majority within the profession. Traditional paralegals work in law firms, corporate legal departments, and in a significant number of government agencies, including the federal and state court systems. When law firms and corporate legal departments began hiring more paralegals, there came a need to manage the paralegal personnel and the work they were performing. Therefore, from within the ranks of traditional paralegals came the paralegal manager (sometimes referred to as a paralegal coordinator).
Freelance/contract paralegals are self-employed and act as independent contractors who are retained by attorneys from various sectors (both public and private) on a case-by-case basis. Freelance paralegals provide necessary support and expertise directly to attorneys on an as-needed basis, thereby providing an economically feasible alternative to hiring a full-time employee.
Independent paralegals are relatively new to the profession and are challenging the boundaries for the delivery of legal services. Independent paralegals often provide assistance directly to the public and offer a wide variety of services, depending on their area of expertise. Services include document preparation (also referred to as scrivener services), representation when permitted by court rule or statutory authority, and providing information about the legal system and pro se procedures within various courts.
Education continues to play a vital role in the development of the paralegal profession. Although on-the-job training remains an important element in developing successful paralegals, formal education has an increasingly important role. Formal educational opportunities for paralegals have increased significantly since the profession's inception.
Today, more than 800 formal paralegal training programs exist throughout the United States. The vast majority of training programs are two-year degree programs found in junior colleges or within a four-year institution. The number of four-year degree programs and post-baccalaureate certificate programs continues to increase. Additionally, there are at least six institutions that offer a masters degree in paralegal studies.
In the 1970s, the ABA, through its Standing Committee on Legal Assistants, recognized the potential for growth in educational opportunities for the paralegal profession and established a voluntary approval process for training programs. The ABA created Guidelines and Procedures for Obtaining ABA Approval of Legal Assistant Education Programs (ABA Guidelines) and an Approval Commission, working under the auspices of the Standing Committee on Legal Assistants, to ensure compliance with the ABA Guidelines. The approval process, albeit voluntary, does provide prospective employers with assurance that the educational institution has, at least, met minimum standards.
To obtain ABA approval, paralegal training programs must offer students a general education (liberal arts) component as well as a legal specialty (legal technical) component. Each component must consist of 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours). Currently, more than 200 paralegal training programs have sought and obtained ABA approval.
NFPA has a rich history of supporting quality education for paralegals and recognizes that a two-year degree in paralegal studies is acceptable to employers in some markets as the minimum criterion for individuals to enter the paralegal profession. NFPA recommends, however, that future practitioners have a four-year degree to enter the profession. Individuals receiving a formal paralegal education should have 24 semester hours or the equivalent of legal specialty courses to enhance their ability to practice as paralegals.
Educational programs for paralegals will continue to evolve to prepare graduates to meet the needs of the public and the legal community. NFPA continues to review and assess programs and curriculum to ensure that persons entering the paralegal profession have the necessary knowledge, skills and ability to meet the current demands for legal services and expand their role in the future.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that employment of paralegals is expected to increase much faster than average in the rapidly expanding legal services industry. Paralegals are expected to be in great demand in legal and related fields attributable to efforts to provide more cost-effective legal services to the public. In 1992, paralegals held approximately 95,000 jobs. The Bureau's moderate projection estimates that by the year 2005 paralegals will hold approximately 176,000 jobs.
Paralegals have been and will continue to be widely employed in private businesses such as law firms, corporate legal departments, banks, trust companies, insurance companies, real estate and title insurance companies, real estate development companies, alternate dispute resolution centers, and other businesses where substantive legal knowledge and paralegal skills are required. Paralegals have and will continue to be employed in the public sector where cost-efficiency is essential. An example of the types of opportunities available to paralegals in the public sector include positions with state and federal government agencies, courts, public utility companies, publicly funded legal service projects and community legal service programs.
The paralegal profession has flourished out of a need for most cost-effective legal services. Employment opportunities for paralegals are extensive throughout both the public and private sectors. Although the federal government and law firms are the dominant employers of paralegals, the profession has become better recognized as being capable of handling a variety of tasks in a variety of situations. New opportunities continue to proliferate. NFPA offers its members a unique way to take advantage of employment opportunities through its resume service available on the Internet.
The profession will continue to thrive as more law firms, corporations and the government realize that paralegals handle tasks that allow more people to be served. States throughout the country have identified the need for greater public access to the justice system. Paralegals will continue to increase their role in the delivery of legal services and work to identify and develop new and innovative methods to increase the availability of affordable legal services.
For more information, see the NFPA Compensation and Benefits Report.
Paralegals are well-educated and well-trained with a variety of backgrounds, experience, education, and job responsibilities across a broad range of practice areas. Only statutory or court authority or a supervising attorney's determination of the paralegal's competency limits the type of tasks a paralegal may perform. Paralegals perform the same functions as an attorney except those generally prohibited by unauthorized practice of law statutes, i.e., accepting clients, setting legal fees, giving legal advice, or representing others in court. The delivery of legal services by non-lawyers before many federal administrative agencies is a well-established fact.
Because the law is complex and often ambiguous, paralegals must be intelligent with an analytical and logical mind. They must be able to recognize and evaluate relevant facts and legal concepts. Paralegals have the ability to organize, analyze, communicate, and administer. Other interpersonal skills that serve paralegals are resolving conflicts, negotiating, and relating well with various types of persons, often when these persons are in distress.
As paralegals became more integrated into the legal team and the work delegated to paralegals became more substantive in nature, attorneys began to include time for both attorney and paralegal services in fee petitions permitted by state or federal statutes. In the early 1980s courts began to recognize that paralegals were separate from support staff and encouraged attorneys to provide legal services in the most efficient manner possible. Courts awarding fees for paralegal services consistently point out that if the work had not been done by paralegals, charging fees based upon attorneys' rates would have been necessary.
NFPA believes that paralegals should uphold a high level of ethical standards. After conducting extensive research and obtaining comments from individuals with expertise in the area of ethics, in May 1993 NFPA created and adopted a Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility (NFPA Model Code). The NFPA Model Code provides paralegals with ethical guidelines and standards for professional conduct to which every paralegal should aspire. through its Ethics Board, NFPA provides opinions and information in response to inquiries about ethical actions and activities. In 1997 the NFPA adopted the Model Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Guidelines for Enforcement.
Paralegal Responsibilities contains a compilation of information from paralegals across the country. It clearly reflects that the paralegal profession is as diverse as the community it serves. Some paralegals may perform at a higher level of responsibility than shown in this publication; others, less. Overall, this publication attempts to show what paralegals do and categorizes the information by practice area for ease in reference. While compiling this information, NFPA found that many varied responsibilities could be included within the specialized practice areas. Instead of repeating responsibilities throughout the numerous specialty practice areas, NFPA has included substantive descriptions in only the specialty section. Where appropriate, the specialty practice area contains a reference to related sections.
Paralegal Responsibilities will continue to evolve as the profession develops in response to the public's changing needs and the restructuring of the legal system to meet those needs. NFPA will continue to monitor paralegal roles and update this publication to keep the legal community and the public fully informed about the paralegal profession.
We invite your comments and opinions. Please write to NFPA at P.O. Box 33108, Kansas City, Missouri 64114-0108, or send your Internet e-mail to info@paralegals.org.
NFPA would like to thank the Legal Assistant Managers Association for its invaluable assistance in preparing the section entitled "Paralegal Management/Administration."
NFPA would also like to thank its committees and members involved in contributing to and compiling the information for this publication. Their dedication and effort is a testament to the profession. Together, we continue to make a difference.
A special thank you to The Affiliates its financial sponsorship of this publication.
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