Defining a Legal Technician
Legal technicians are legal professionals that assist clients with preparing for litigation or other legal processes. They review information, perform basic legal research, and act as a liaison between clients and attorneys to ensure that all parties involved in a case are up to date. Although legal technicians often assist attorneys, the field is very new and offers many opportunities to provide legal guidance and help clients without having to become an attorney.
Legal technicians can specialize in a wide range of areas. Some examples include:
Legal technicians often work independently, with the possibility of collaborating with a law firm or working for an individual client. Although they put together an entire case from start to finish, they do not have the freedom to submit or represent documents in court independently like attorneys do.
Legal technicians do not require licensure like attorneys do. Although certification programs like those offered by paralegal-edu.org are available, it is not mandatory to hold a license to work as a legal technician. It is recommended that technicians join a professional organization, such as the National Association of Legal Technicians or the National Federation of Paralegal Associations , although this is not required to provide legal assistance.
There are significant differences between legal technicians, attorneys, and paralegals. For example, attorneys need to pay for, obtain, and maintain a license through their respective state’s bar association. However, they are allowed to practice law in every aspect including court representation, policy advising, or legislative advocacy.
Paralegals are legal assistants that support attorney work. They typically prepare trial briefs, prepare documents for discovery, and may act as the point person for the attorney within the legal company. They may also engage in legal research or communicate with clients. Legal technicians, on the other hand, cannot assume primary responsibility for paralegal tasks of conduct the business of a law firm under the supervision of an attorney.
Finally, legal technicians focus on implementing client legal goals and putting together a case from beginning to end. They perform administrative duties and ensure that the case is running smoothly. Attorneys, on the other hand, will often put together strategies to win cases and advise clients based on those strategies, whereas legal technicians set up the framework for the litigation.
The Advantages of Employing a Legal Technician
Hiring a legal technician can be a cost-effective and affordable option for individuals in need of legal services. For example, in a relatively newly defined area of law, alternative legal service providers have charged far lower fees for the legally required consultations with the individual filing the paperwork. It is important to have an initial consultation with the individual named in the court papers as part of the process. Aparna Sridhar, a certified Florida Registered Legal Document Preparers, charges $150.00 for the required appearance at the initial consultation with the client. As a legal technician, she can prepare the pleadings and file the documents, and also appear in court, if needed. Ms. Sridhar also charges her hourly fee to communicate on behalf of her clients with creditors, and to send letters to any agencies in aspects of client’s matters requiring her legal expertise.
The Range of Services Provided by a Legal Technician
Legal technicians are legally authorized to provide a range of legal services to the public, often filling the role of a paralegal while not being under the watch of a supervising attorney. Legal technicians are required to take continuing legal education courses and must pass an examination before they can provide legal services for money. The following are just a few of the legal services that accredited legal technicians can provide:
Preparation Of Legal Documents
Legal technicians are able to prepare records for court use; drafting pleadings, affidavits, and petitions; preparing corporate documents; preparing premarital and post-marital agreements; preparing wills; and drafting all other legally required documents, motions, and notices.
Filing of Court Documents
Legal technicians are able to file pleadings, motions, and other papers with the court on behalf of a client; submitting applications; submitting proposed orders of the court; and filing proposed stipulations and judgments.
Appeal Preparation
Legal technicians are able to prepare appeals to the next level of court and/or the appellate courts; prepare requests for transcripts; requests for dismissal from the court; and requests for extensions of time to respond to motions.
Representation
Legal technicians are permitted to represent clients at administrative hearings as well as judicial proceedings before a state or federal court, tribunal, or agency.
Legal advice is not among the services that legal technicians may legally provide. While this can be a confounding and gray area, legal technicians must be aware of their limitations. They may provide legal information to assist in the preparation of legal documents; advise on the filling of out of court forms or documents; advise clients on how to be prepared for trial, mediation, arbitration, or administrative hearings; and assist in conducting legal research. Legal technicians can also assist a client in finding the correct legal resources to represent themselves for free, with an attorney, or with a legal technician.
The Pathway to Becoming a Legal Technician
To become a legal technician, individuals typically complete a post-secondary education program related to legal services. These programs, which can vary in duration from a few months to two years, are offered by institutions such as community colleges or other higher learning centers. As such, high school completion is usually required to enroll in one of these schools.
Once completed, it will be necessary for legal technicians to join a professional organization and apply for licensing to practice. As with many professions, this may include completing an examination to demonstrate practical knowledge of the field. Because this profession is relatively new, fewer states have established professional organizations and licensure requirements. In general, obtaining a license requires the passing of the bar exams in each state where a legal technician wants to do business.
As previously mentioned, beginning in July 2015, Washington State has legally defined legal technicians as professionals who act similarly to lawyers. That means they have the legal right to assist clients in specific non-litigation tasks and represent clients in administrative proceedings. These professionals have advanced training and extensive knowledge of the law.
Washington has established its licensing system, but several other states have also begun the process of determining how to license legal technicians.
Legal Limitations Imposed on Legal Technicians
Although legal technicians may provide invaluable services to those unable to afford the high costs of traditional legal representation, they are limited in the aspects of legal matters in which they may participate and provide assistance.
For instance, Washington state legal technicians currently assist only with divorce proceedings once certain "qualifying" factors are present, i.e., children involved and property division. However, it is also important to note that, as future updates to Washington state procedures develop , this list of qualifying factors could increase.
Family Law Legal Technicians qualified to perform tier 1 duties only in limited circumstances provide assistance with the following specific tasks:
In short, and given the stated limitations and narrow practice areas, a legal technician may not generally provide legal advice, represent parties in litigation, or engage in settlement negotiations with other parties.
In Washington state, there are only two approved pathways to become a licensed legal technician.
How Legal Technicians Increase Access to Law
Legal techs can do a lot of things to help lower the overall cost of practicing law. In addition to increasing accessibility in terms of flexibility and service, legal techs also help make legal assistance more affordable. One of the greatest contributions of legal tech is its ability to enhance access to legal services in generally underserved areas, such as remote or rural communities.
Suppose a new legal tech decides to start a practice in a small town that is far removed from the nearest urban area. It’s unlikely that this tech will find a clientele requiring more than a handful of licenses, contracts, or wills. Without the help of a legal tech, this solo practitioner would not have the time or financial resources to serve his or her community effectively.
On the other hand, a legal tech could help in this situation by filing joint and living wills online for several clients per day. This would leave the practitioner free to take on more lucrative, higher-volume endeavors, like eviction lawsuits, closing sales on residential properties, or creating wills for executors.
On the flip side, legal techs who serve large urban populations often see the opposite problem. In some cases, there are simply too many clients to serve. While some legal techs may choose to hire additional services, they may limit the amount of work they delegate to non-lawyers. Hiring an assistant involves expensive costs like health insurance, paid time off, and specialized training. Online software, however, allows legal techs to outsource the additional work they cannot complete for minimal fees.
This makes more sense from a financial and practical standpoint. Legal techs can spend the time they save on marketing, networking, or keeping their skills sharp, since they are already experts in their field. Using legal tech also allows legal professionals to focus on the work they care about the most in the first place.
Legal tech is also useful for removing barriers for those who have difficulty finding other forms of legal assistance. Many refugees, immigrants, and non-native speakers rely on translators to communicate properly with attorneys in the United States, but these services can be prohibitively expensive. Legal tech saves clients from having to hire outside services because it is inherently user-friendly, without disturbing legalese, jargon, or unnecessary complexity.
While some legal techs are designed to remove client contact entirely, many simply allow legal professionals and clients to communicate more easily. Legal tech is responsible for some of the most significant shifts in the way the public seeks legal assistance. However, these shifts are rare in part due to the recentness of the arrival of these tools.
Legal techs, however, have been around for much longer than most people realize. For example, automated portfolio systems have been used for many years. These systems also offer a vital benefit: they provide backup and recordkeeping services.
These are just a few of the many benefits of accessibility legal tech contributes to the public. All of the following applications have a place in the legal system:
Clients benefit from accessibility in several ways, notably by reducing their need to travel long distances, by saving them time, and by cutting costs overall.
The Legal Technician of Tomorrow
As technology continues to evolve, the role of legal technicians may adapt to mirror the increasing use of automated services and artificial intelligence. For instance, document assembly software, which collects data for legal documents based on client inputs, has become increasingly common and is used by legal technicians, among other professionals. Legal service websites, such as Rocket Lawyer, LegalZoom and others already have dramatically changed how documents can be generated, and they are now evolving to providing more premium internet services. Some of these companies also have created certain physical , distance-based "offices," which allow individuals to meet face-to-face virtually from anywhere with a legal professional who can provide advice or assistance using a screen and any required software applications. We may see greater overlap between the resources provided by legal technicians and the services provided by full-service law firms. Alternatively, legal technology companies may continue to invest to provide more services by automation in combination with a human advisor. Existing bar restrictions may need to evolve to meet these changing realities.