The risk for customers lies exclusively in training and regulation. If those systems are strong, I think the program will be strong. In a recent Stanford study of the Washington state experience, clients saw better outcomes with paraprofessionals. And that, of course, raises the question, better than what? The people who hired paraprofessionals (and this applies to other states as well) were mostly people who would otherwise have represented themselves. For these people, the results were better, the judges felt they were getting the information they needed to make good decisions effectively, and the clients felt empowered. Will the paraprofessional program result in increased competition for solo lawyers? Well, yes and no. For practitioners who have a practice that caters to clients of “modest means,” who typically charge a flat fee for certain services, or who offer limited services and short-term consultation models, the paraprofessional program can be a competition because the target client pool will be about the same. On the other hand, I would expect there to be creative referral agreements between modest lawyers and paraprofessionals to keep the cost of providing services low and high in the volume of practice. A working group for the provision of legal services has been established in Arizona. In January 2021, the Arizona Supreme Court amended the Arizona Code of Judicial Administration (“ACJA”) to add §7-210, which outlines the requirements and obligations for becoming a limited licensed legal practitioner, now known as a paraprofessional legal (“LP”). ACJA §7-210 lists the requirements for licensing, the roles and responsibilities of an SQ, and the continuing education requirements for obtaining and maintaining the license. Currently, there are four areas of law in which an AP can provide services: family law, civil law with limited jurisdiction, criminal law and administrative law. ACJA §7-210 requires each candidate to pass the basic exam and an exam in the specific jurisdiction they wish to authorize.

The Arizona State Bar began licensing LPs in November 2021 and there are currently twenty-two licensed LPs offering legal services in the state. Licensing, the most restrictive form of authentication, protects the title, role and profession, as well as the safety and well-being of the public. If a state requires a license for a particular profession, only those who hold a state license can practice and hold the title. Licensing is compulsory and is promulgated and supported by legislation and enforced by a State licensing authority. Currently, state-level certification is almost always offered by the state paralegal professional association, not the state bar association or a state licensing agency of any kind — and it is always voluntary. Even in the few states where bar or other agency certification is available, for most paralegals in most roles, it is completely voluntary and usually completely unnecessary. Ricca: Arizona has taken a centralized, prescriptive approach to regulatory reform, creating new categories of suppliers and establishing definitions, rules, and requirements for them. The court completely repealed Rule 5.4 and introduced a licensing system for “alternative business structures” (ABS). ABSs are legal entities whose ownership or management is not legal, but only lawyers practice law. You must meet many requirements to participate, including an Arizona attorney in a compliance officer role.

About 20 ABS entered the Arizona system. At the same time, Arizona also created a Certified Paraprofessional Role (“LP”) – in effect, “nurse practitioner” for the law. There are currently 17 LPs practicing in Arizona. Other examples include: (1) representing clients in court, (2) testifying witnesses, and/or (3) signing oral arguments and motions. However, some federal and state administrative agencies allow the practice without advocacy; These include the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the Social Security Administration (SSA), and the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO). Certification is a voluntary form of certification that exists in most professions, whether the profession is licensed or not. It should be noted that some states use the term “certification” to refer to formal practice privileges for certain professions, in which case it effectively means the same thing as “license,” but it is not very common. Certification by non-governmental organizations (public or private) allows professionals in an industry or profession to obtain a credential that demonstrates a level of expertise or knowledge greater than the minimum normally required to practice it. Unauthorized use of the law is a means of protecting the public from harm caused by unlicensed persons who exercise the law.

In Florida, the Florida Supreme Court has created a special program called Unlicensed Practice of Law (UPL). It is also worth mentioning that many courts and paralegal organizations believe that mandatory regulation of paralegals can hinder the growth of the profession. For example, NALA rejects mandatory regulation and instead encourages voluntary self-regulation through its national certification program. Until 2015, Washington state was the only state to start licensing non-lawyers, when Utah formed its task force to determine whether that license (or something similar) would work for them. The Supreme Court Task Force to Investigate Limited Legal Licenses in Utah was created to identify areas of law where there were gaps in access to justice. The working group identified family law, debt collection and eviction as the areas of greatest need. A steering committee began the meeting in February 2016 to identify training, licensing and administrative requirements, and to propose guidelines on professional conduct and discipline. Utah`s non-legal legal provider is known as the Licensed Paralegal Practitioner (“LLP”).