Reasons you may not need a lawyer for legal representation
Your next adviser in an Arizona courtroom may not be a lawyer.
The state launched a new program last year to allow nonlawyers who have specific education and training to provide legal help in limited areas.
And now, the University of Arizona has expanded its degree programs specifically for people who want to become what is known as legal paraprofessionals.
The changes are aimed at helping make up for a severe shortage of lawyers in the state. Arizona had fewer lawyers per capita than all but three states in 2020, according to the American Bar Association. And 10 of the state’s 15 counties had less than one lawyer per 1,000 residents.
That has left many people on their own in court.
Those who need help often can’t access or afford legal representation, contributing to 75% of court cases in Arizona having a self-represented party, according to Dave Byers, director of the administrative office of Arizona courts. In some types of cases, like
“It isn’t the case that every single legal problem requires a full-service attorney, but traditionally that’s the only legal service provider that’s been available. Different people can have different qualifications to provide different services based on complexity, the nature of the problem and so forth.”
Zack DeMeola
University of Denver’s Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System
family law, it’s as high as 90%.
The Arizona Supreme Court approved the legal paraprofessional, or LP, program, following two other states that had experimented with similar change. Other states are exploring similar options.
And last month, the court approved a program at the UA College of Law for undergraduate students as a pathway to a legal paraprofessional license.
There are also options for UA graduate students.
Those who receive a license can practice in family law, limited civil cases, limited criminal cases and administrative law, if they’ve passed state exams in those areas
“We think we’ve done something that is transformative for our profession, goes to access to legal education and to the provision of legal services and will echo throughout the country,” said Marc Miller, dean of UA’s law school.
Aldemaro Peña Figueroa is one student ready to take advantage of UA’s new legal paraprofessional track. Peña Figueroa, 49, has experience helping immigrants held at Eloy Detention Center and wants to get his legal paraprofessional license to further that work.
He plans to finish in May and then take the state licensing exam and start practicing in areas that could include immigration law, criminal law and family law.
“I think that if you are able to help, to provide legal assistance, to any person, low-income person, I think that makes a difference in society, and I think that makes a difference for the person,” he said.
What are legal paraprofessionals?
Similar to a nurse practitioner in medicine, legal paraprofessionals are trained in the profession on a more limited scope.
They can offer some of the same services as lawyers and get licensed through the state.
The goal is to give Arizonans more access to hire affordable legal advocates, helping relieve what’s been termed the “justice gap.”
“Look in health care and you see this hugely differentiated profession, and so this is a move towards lower cost — and therefore higher access — to training for various kinds of legal services,” Miller said.
In a divorce case, for example, the parties could hire an LP who practices family law rather than representing themselves or paying high prices for a lawyer.
Legal paraprofessionals in Arizona can draft and file legal documents, provide legal advice, represent clients in certain courts and negotiate for clients.
They can’t work on criminal cases where jail time is involved and have other parameters limiting their scope.
Arizona’s first 10 legal paraprofessionals were approved for licensure in November by the Supreme Court’s Board of Nonlawyer Legal Service Providers.
“I am very excited to welcome the new paraprofessionals to the practice of law in Arizona,” Supreme Court Vice Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer said in a statement at the time. “I am optimistic that this marks a new era of progress in closing the justice gap in our state.”
Legal paraprofessionals are affiliate members of the State Bar of Arizona and have to undergo continuing education and are subject to investigation for allegations of misconduct, according to rules approved by the Supreme Court. They do not have to work under a licensed attorney but they do have to follow court rules and the code of conduct.
To get licensed, applicants must pass a state exam and meet certain legal education prerequisites, like the bachelor’s in law degree, or have law-related experience for seven of the past 10 years.
States like Utah and Washington have or had similar programs, and a handful of other states, including California, New York and New Mexico are reviewing possible adoption.
Utah in 2015 began reviewing options for more legal professionals and in 2019 began allowing “licensed paralegal practitioners” to help clients with some areas of family law, forcible entry and detainer and debt collection cases.
Zack DeMeola of the University of Denver’s Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System said legal paraprofessionals are an effective and affordable way to provide legal services for people in need.
“It isn’t the case that every single legal problem requires a full-service attorney, but traditionally that’s the only legal service provider that’s been available,” he said. “Different people can have different qualifications to provide different services based on complexity, the nature of the problem and so forth.”
For example, the vast majority of people in eviction and debt collection cases defend themselves because there aren’t many options for representation. It’s not always financially sustainable for lawyers to take on those cases, he said.
“At stake is probably not a high dollar amount, but it is a huge life-changing event for the people who have to go through it. So how do we create an avenue for those people to get the help that they need? … (Legal paraprofessionals) can jump in and provide different types of services but not necessarily something that a full-service attorney could provide,” DeMeola said.
“There’s no question that a competently trained, certified and even experienced paraprofessional is way better — way better — than what they have now, which is nothing.”
Peña Figueroa said he’s seen people try to represent themselves in immigration cases and knows they would’ve had a better chance with legal help. He said he’s especially interested in helping defend people whose job or immigration status could depend on not having a criminal background.
UA’s new pathway into legal profession
UA’s programs — a bachelor’s in law LP track; a master’s of legal studies; and a bachelor’s in law and accelerated master’s — provide legal education and specific training for the four different practice areas of family law, limited jurisdiction civil law, limited jurisdiction criminal law or administrative law.
Law school leaders saw the opportunity to help train the new tier of legal professionals by expanding their programs, and they say many students have already expressed interest.
Students take classes in procedure, legal writing and research, legal analysis, torts, contracts, property law and constitutional law, plus electives in more specific areas of practice.
“It’s this new exciting college-level pathway that doesn’t exist in any other state,” said Keith Swisher, director of the bachelor’s in law and master of legal studies programs.
Administrators hope the legal paraprofessional option will bring more people into the legal field and help to diversify the profession.
Going through the four-year program and starting as a legal paraprofessional is a much faster way to begin representing clients and can help people determine if they want to invest the time and money to become a full attorney, said Linus Kafka, assistant director of the UA programs.
Some people may later pursue law school to expand their client list and the types of cases they can practice, Kafka said, but for many, becoming a legal paraprofessional is the goal.
“LP will be a tier of practice in and of itself. It’s not a junior lawyer,” he said. “It’s answering a need in the legal marketplace that’s very profound and specific.”
The Supreme Court approved UA’s law degree in December as an educational qualification for LP licensure.
Community colleges with paralegal studies courses can also get students on the path to licensure with two-year degrees, but they also need additional experience working under a lawyer.
DeMeola, the expert in legal services delivery, said the new profession presents an opportunity for law schools and other institutions to get involved and shape the profession by building different models to funnel students into law.
“There’s a huge opportunity here for a whole new way to bring people into this profession and for educators to do some pioneering work,” he said, adding that community colleges could play a key role in reaching students in rural areas where there’s a shortage of legal services.
Other states are looking towards Arizona’s experience to figure out how to design the most effective program to help people in need, DeMeola said.
“What Arizona and Utah did, you just cannot overstate the importance of it. It really did open the door for a lot of other states to see a future in this kind of work,” he said.