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Florida Bar to Explore Paralegal Licensing and Regulation

By Lynne DeVenny

In a move that is generating a great deal of attention from legal professionals across the country, the Florida Bar is setting up a committee to explore the licensing and regulation of paralegals.

?That program [FRP] is up for review right now. But the registered paralegals have requested that we look into requiring that they be regulated in some form or fashion, and their request specifically is that they be regulated by The Florida Bar or the Florida Supreme Court,? said board member Greg Coleman, chair of the Program Evaluation Committee, which will review the registered paralegal program.

Paralegal regulation is a hot-button topic among legal professionals. In a 2006 Legal Assistant Today article, Patrick Vuong neatly sums up the opposing views as follows:

Some paralegals and legislators want mandatory licensure of the profession, saying it would assure that clients receive services from only qualified, trained professionals, and it would help distinguish paralegals from legal secretaries and other administrators. But opponents argue regulation is unnecessary because unauthorized practice of law statutes provide sufficient safeguards and already define what a paralegal can and can?t do.

Catherine Durgin explores the opposing views on paralegal regulation in her 2007 ABA Business Law Today article, "Getting legal with paralegals".

The debate about the need for paralegal regulation is as old as the profession. The arguments often parallel a person's view on the role of paralegals in the delivery of legal services. Are paralegals merely assistants to lawyers, or do they represent an independent profession that requires separate regulation and supervision? While some are content letting the supervising lawyer decide the qualifications of the paralegals he or she hires, others call for increased supervision and regulation.

Even the advocates for increased regulation have differing opinions on what needs to be done: Some want to raise the profile of the profession by establishing standards for paralegals, while others call for mandatory regulation that expands the role of paralegals in the delivery of legal services and simultaneously protects the public from the unauthorized practice of law. Proposals at the state and national levels recommend various regulatory schemes as solutions. Some have been successful, others not so successful.

More recently, Shirley Caroline Bryant, PLS, asked "How Does Paralegal Regulation Affect YOU?" in a 2009 article for NALS. She gives good advice when she recommends that paralegals should "stay informed regarding the presence of regulation in your state."

Where do you stand on paralegal regulation? Do we not fix what isn't broken - or do we need regulation to mandate who can and cannot use the paralegal title?

Sources: The Florida Bar News; Legal Assistant Today; Business Law Today; NALS

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on August 26, 2010 (boomark / email).