Overview
Introduction- What is
are Legal Information and Document Preparation Services and
How are they Different From Traditional
Legal Services Offered by the Legal
Profession
Industry Structure
The Advent of Legal
Technicians
The Legal Technician Training
Institute
Introduction - What are Legal
Information and Document Preparation Services and How are they Different From
Legal Services
Every state has laws which prevent the practice of law by
non-lawyers. These laws are call "Unauthorized Practice of Law" rules and in
many states the penalties for practicing law without a license are pretty
severe.
However, non-lawyers can assist the general public to help them to represent
themselves by typing their information into the variable spaces within paper
forms or into the variable fields within a software program which then creates a
legal form or document based on this user information. The document
preparer, or legal information specialist can do a variety of legal
information support tasks without violating the laws against the unauthorized
practice of law.
One can provide legal information to the general public in
the form of written, oral, or video, or audio materials. Distributing legal
information in its various forms can be a valuable service that complements
legal document preparation services offered by non-lawyers to the general
public. In states, such as Florida, California, Arizona, and Washington
State, which are in the forefront of what is becoming known as the "legal
information industry" there are hundreds of individuals offering legal document
preparation and legal information services. Several companies have created
franchise operations that are designed to establish nationwide chains of such
offices. There is no question that this industry will continue to grow and at
the expense of the legal profession which is geared up to offer full legal
services at a much higher price. For many consumers, the mere provision of legal
information at a much lower price will satisfactorily resolve the consumer's
problem.
One way of thinking about the range of services that are
offered to help people solve their legal problems is to map these services on an
axis which compares them to the amount of assistance that is provided to
consumer with the lawyer on one end of the spectrum and self-legal form books on
the other. Legal information services provided through a network of retail
offices staffed by paraprofessionals falls some where in the middle of the
spectrum:
The Advent of
Legal Technicians
To respond to this need for legal information specialists who serve the public
directly, a new class of paraprofessional has emerged which has been
labeled by states such as California, Arizona, and Washington State as a "legal
technician." Often called an independent paralegal, a "legal technician"
is some one who serves the public directly and provides very limited legal
information services such as typing of legal forms. providing legal information
on basic procedures. and identifying self-help law books and other published
materials that can be distributed to pro se litigants. Unlike true "paralegals"
legal technicians do not work under the supervision of an attorney.
Today there are literally hundreds of independent legal
technicians providing services to the general public from retail or office
locations. Some legal technicians will make home visits or visit a the customer
in their office. One legal technician maintains a mobile van and travels
throughout rural areas in California to help migrants with their legal problems.
The purpose of the
Legal Technician Training
Institute is to offer a variety of training and educational experiences
to qualify individuals for this emerging paraprofessional role.
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