NCJ Number
75921
Journal
Educational Perspectives Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1976) Pages: 27-32
Date Published
1976
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes the work of the legal assistant, analyzes the major sources of attorney resistance to more extensive use of the legal assistant, and predicts future trends in the utilization of paralegals.
Abstract
The purpose of the legal assistant, or paralegal, is to make the delivery of legal services more efficient and thus less costly. The number of legal assistants in the United States is definitely increasing rapidly, although precise calculations are difficult to make, due to lack of accurate statistics which separate the legal assistant from the experienced legal secretary. Tasks which the trained legal assistant performs include handling routine client contact, gathering information, preparing documents, signing documents, filing papers, monitoring case status, investigating, and legal research. It is estimated that the number of legal assistants totals 70,000 nationally, of whom 20,000 are working in government and 50,000 are employed in the private market. The reluctance of many attorneys to utilize paralegals more extensively stems from four factors: the lack of systematized procedures in the law office, attorneys' fear of possible violations of the Canons of Ethics, lack of quality legal assistant training programs, and attorneys' general reluctance to delegate responsibilities to the nonlawyer staff. The fundamental problem facing the legal profession is that of providing services for lesser cost so that more people may be served. It is suggested that what is required is both a restructuring of personnel (using more legal assistants) and reorganizing the methods of practice, emphasizing use of legal systems, legal insurance, and increased specialization. If the legal profession is unable to make the required changes, the result will be further loss of individual areas of law practice (e.g., title searches), to whatever nonlawyer groups are able to provide the services for the price that the consumer can afford. Twenty-nine footnotes are included.