What About Paralegals?
Well what about them, are the better than using a
lawyer? In my opinion, no. The often cited differences between using the
services of a lawyer and a paralegal are suppose to be that:
At least that is
what clients of mine who have used paralegals have told me when they came to me
to straighten out their messes. Like all myths the reality is usually at
variance with the legend. Let's look at the
reality about Paralegals:
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Paralegals cannot practice law;
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Paralegals cannot give legal advice, only a lawyer can give
legal advice;
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Paralegals lack the training and education that lawyers
have;
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Paralegals are only suppose to prepare documents, at your
direction;
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Paralegals cannot appear in Court or represent you before
most legal entities;
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Paralegals are not always cheaper than lawyers;
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Paralegals are suppose to be supervised by lawyers.
Many paralegals
try and follow the law and do the best job they can. Some become so
skilled in their particular field, such as probate, that they may even exceed
the skill level of many lawyers. Paralegals of this skill level most often are working
for law firms and earn very good salaries. They are
professionals and are well respected by the legal community.
Beware of Scam Artists:
However many of the so-called paralegals, typing services or
notary publics are really nothing more than scam artists that bilk the public
out of millions of dollars each year. This has especially become a problem in
the immigrant community, where many immigrants do not understand our system of
law. For example, a notary public in Mexico means something entirely
different than it does in this country. As a result, many unsuspecting
immigrants, both legal and illegal, are fleeced each year by unscrupulous
individuals posing as paralegals, notaries or even as an attorney.
In the area of
immigration, family law, bankruptcy and landlord tenant, the problem is rampant.
We attorneys call this situation the unauthorized practice of law and it is
against the law. They set up storefront shops in immigrant communities,
advertising services that they know they cannot deliver. Many immigrants will
spend their entire life savings in the hope of getting a "green card." They do this because in their countries bribes are commonplace. They are
expected and the norm. Here they are illegal.
They prepare
documents that are often virtually worthless. Sometimes people with valid claims
are prevented from accessing vital services or protecting their rights due to
the actions of fraudulent practitioners.
Paralegals
are suppose to be supervised by lawyers, many are not. They even use
"cappers" who are paid to bring immigrants to the crook. When they
are caught they fold up their operations, only to reopen a few days later
under new names. The state bar and members of our local bar associations
are making inroads into the problem of the "Unauthorized Practice of
Law"
but it has been slow going.
The lesson here is
that if you think that the services they provide is the same as a lawyer, then
you are mistaken. You don't get something for nothing and if it sounds too good
to be true, then it probably is. Remember when your mom taught you these
homilies? Well they are still true today.
What I find
amusing is that many of these scam artists use your own prejudices against
lawyers against you.
They promise you the world at what seems like a reasonable price. So you pay it,
thinking that you are sticking it to the greedy lawyers, when in reality you
just stuck it to yourself.
More Than Form Fillers:
Most legal problems like divorce, immigration or
landlord-tenant, require that legal forms be properly prepared, filed and
served. If paralegals were as trained as lawyers, then they would be practicing
law instead of just typing up papers. Besides if that was all that was required,
then going to a paralegal might be fine, but it isn't. It's not about knowing
what boxes to check on a form, it's about having a complete game plan for your
case. From properly executing the forms to arguing your case in Court.
The document
preparation, filing and service stage is only the beginning. What if the
documents are badly drafted? Then the Court may reject them and you could find
yourself deported, evicted or improperly restrained from doing a perfectly legal
act. You might even be arrested, have your children removed, get evicted, or lose
valuable rights.
What if the other
party hires a lawyer and they file their own papers in response to your papers, then what
do you do? You should understand that when you file papers in court or in front
of a governmental agency, at some point in time you must appear before that
court or agency and plead your case just like a lawyer. Only you are not a lawyer and
the paralegal isn't going to be there to argue your case for you.
You are going
to be there all alone, without any knowledge or training, before the court or
agency defending your papers, "ALL ALONE." Most people who have done
this have told me that the initial satisfaction that they felt of a cheap price,
quickly faded when confronted by the reality that they were really not prepared
to proceed.
This situation is
the result of a failure of the client to think beyond the initial step of simply
filing papers. Their limited experience with the legal process coupled with
their desire to save money, lead them astray. You cannot assume that the Court
is going to act as your lawyer and correct all of your mistakes, because that is
not the Court's function. While it is true that many Court's have facilitators
to help you file your papers properly, they are still not lawyers.
Not Every Case Should Be Filed:
I see many cases where a competent lawyers would have advised
against even filing the case in the first place. In fact, many cases should
never be brought because of tactical considerations. While that may sound
strange, it is true.
Just because it is
possible to file a case, doesn't mean that you should do it. The best reason
for not filing a case may simply be because the facts do not favor
your side. Plainly put, you would lose. Another reason for not
filing a case may
simply be that you don't make a very good witnesses or maybe you have criminal
records, drug or alcohol problems. Things that you may think should not
have any impact on your case may turn out to be devastating. Without a
competent attorney to help guide you through this minefield, you may make the
mistake of your life, merely because you lack the training and experience.
Sometimes the
other side doesn't really want to take any action against you, and they
probably wouldn't have. In cases like this it is your own
filing that forces the other side to take counter action. So unless you
are properly advised about your particular case, you may very well rue the day
you even started it. It is sort of like shooting yourself in the foot.
There are other
people with mental problems, or have personal grudges that they feel can
only be addressed by the Court. They may even be delusional or violent. Or in
the alternative they may have a completely valid case, but their own personality
is so bad that they would alienate a judge or jury. These types of cases are
clearly beyond the ability of a paralegal to handle properly. Even skilled
lawyers may not be able to help these people.
The main thing
that I want you to take from this article is the idea that price is not
always the only thing that you should use to evaluate your case. The very
first thing that you need is a fair and impartial evaluation of your case,
without regard to the expense involved. If you have a good case, then proceed.
If not, then you don't. The second thing that you look at is the cost
involved. You have to weigh the benefits and the risks of each alternative.
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