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: ParalegalGateway Blawg

Paralegals are Professionals (Contributed by Patty Dietz-Selke)

By ParalegalGateway.com

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?Take me seriously as a paralegal. Take me seriously as a person.? - by Melissa Hinote from 10/28/09 Paralegalese Blog

For the last 13 years I have been teaching an ?Introduction to the Paralegal Profession? class at a local Atlanta Paralegal Certificate program. I taught this course from what I affectionately called the ?Paralegal Bible? which is also known as William ?Bill? Statsky?s ?Introduction to Paralegalism.? I considered this legal tome to be one of the ultimate resource guides for the Paralegal profession as it gave practical advice and presented issues of importance to the Paralegal profession. One of those issues discussed in the text was the Tweener or Swoose Syndrome. The Swoose Syndrome refers to someone who is part swan and part goose. The Tweener Syndrome refers to someone who falls between two categories and as applicable to the Paralegal profession, typically refers to someone who performs both clerical and attorney tasks. It goes to the heart of the professional issue/question ? Is a Paralegal a professional?

Now this syndrome or situation is NO revelation to any one practicing in the legal world especially to Paralegals. I have never worried about it much as I strongly believe that people will treat me commensurate with how I portray myself - if I act professional, they will treat me as a professional. That philosophy has served me well and has thus proven quite true for me personally. However, I have noticed as of late that some Attorneys and law firms, don?t necessarily see Paralegals as true professionals and are unsure as to how to perceive us or deal with us at all. This is obviously nothing new, but I?ve just noticed it more and more over the last few years. Maybe it?s because I?m no longer an inexperienced and untried Paralegal who needs to prove herself, but rather a seasoned professional who has achieved a measure of competence and confidence. I bring a level of expertise to the table that has positive and monetary benefits for the client, the attorney and the employer/law firm. I wish that expertise and contribution to be recognized and find it perplexing that my professional status and gender is an issue in this day and age.
Case in point, the above-noted quote came from a recent blog post by Melissa Hinote (@melihi on Twitter) on the subject of ?sexism? and how Paralegals even today are still referred to as a "wonderful group of ladies." See - http://para-mel.blogspot.com/. As Melissa noted, ?I am not good at my job because I am a woman??I am good at my job because I have half a brain and I try.? It has always been my understanding that ?professionalism? has no relevance to gender. So, our gender is not and should not ever be an issue or reference point when discussing our profession. Equally, law firms need to recognize that Paralegals are Tweeners, not in reference to legal secretaries, but rather, in reference to Attorneys. We all obviously know that Paralegals are not Attorneys; however, we are also NOT staff. Paralegals unlike any other type of ?staff? members, generate billing and thus make money for a law firm. As such, I say that Paralegals are ?cloud makers? who in addition to Attorneys as ?rain makers? contribute to the bottom line. This is not a case of snobbishness or a viewpoint that Paralegals are better than other staff members, but simply a case of our expertise and contribution being properly recognized. It is a fact that Paralegals are profit-centers for law firms. So, please recognize that we are neither Attorney nor Staff, but rather rank us as a distinct class amongst your other groups of professionals, specialists, managers, etc.
To resolve this issue, I inevitably circle back to my initial observation of how I portray myself. It starts on the individual or personal level with how each of us are perceived and what each of us does to promote the ?professionalism? of the Paralegal occupation. Next, it goes to the national level and how Paralegals as a group and, in particular, how our national organizations work in cohesion?.in unity!?..to promote our profession. Do we speak with one voice, with one mission/purpose, for the common good of our profession? In that endeavor, the Paralegal profession needs to stop abrogating responsibility for itself - we have to stop relinquishing control to Attorneys, the ABA, and other organizations or professionals! Paralegals need to step up. We may work for and with Attorneys, but we need to take ownership of our profession starting with the education of our new/prospective members (Paralegal education/certification). We need to determine our own destiny, set our own course and resolve to approach the legal business/environment from the standpoint of being valuable and significant contributors. When that happens, I believe we will not have this discussion on professionalism again. As ParaMel stated, ?stepping off the soap box now" and closing my comments.

Patty Dietz-Selke is an immigration Paralegal at Troutman Sanders in Atlanta, GA as well as a Lecturer/Speaker and Instructor for Paralegal Certificate Programs. She may be reached via email at Patty@ParalegalGateway.org.