What does a Legal Paraprofessional Mean?
In Nov. 2020, the Arizona Supreme Court unanimously voted to eliminate Rule 5.4, which previously prohibited non-lawyers from partnering with attorneys or having financial interests in law practices.
The new rule allows alternative business structures to be established and provides for a licensure process for certain non-lawyers to seek and obtain licenses to practice in limited areas of the law as legal paraprofessionals (LP).
The Arizona Supreme Court created a new license to allow qualified and experienced people to practice as licensed legal paraprofessionals to provide services to people so that they can access the courts to address their legal issues.
LPs can offer full legal services in administrative, criminal, civil, and family law matters with very few restrictions. Mrs. Villalobos practices solely in the area of family law. However, she cannot handle appeals, qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs), or the division of formal business entities or commercial property.
This new level of legal services was created to address the large gap in access to justice to provide greater access to the courts for low- and middle-income people to address their civil legal needs. People can become licensed as legal paraprofessionals based on their legal experience and education.
Legal Paraprofessionals, dubbed by some as “legal practitioners”, have similar roles in legal practice to the roles performed by nurse practitioners in medicine.
Licensed LPs are not document preparers or attorneys but are instead experienced legal professionals who are equipped to represent their clients at an affordable cost.
Licensed LPs must meet specific experiential and educational requirements and pass both a core exam and an exam in their practice area to obtain licenses. Much like an Arizona family law attorney, LPs are licensed by the Arizona Supreme Court and can practice in limited areas of the law.
Stephanie Villalobos, the founder of De Novo Law, was the first person in Arizona and in the entire United States to be granted a license as a legal paraprofessional and currently practices in the area of family law.
Continued at https://www.denovolawaz.com/arizona-legal-paraprofessional/
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