The Florida Registered Paralegal Bill

Paralegals have become an essential part of today's legal system, and as the profession becomes one of the leading and fastest growing occupations in the U.S. economy; these individuals perform delegated tasks under the supervision of attorneys. Education has played an important part on this matter; it has facilitated this development by allowing lawyers to use these skills professionals as agents to delegate specific tasks such as legal research, gathering of information and the drafting of specific legal documents under the supervision and final approval of their principals. This has been very significant because now; we can enjoy a speedy process in a cumbersome legal system. From en economic standpoint, it has also been beneficial by decreasing the substantial amount of the legal cost a firm could incur if only lawyers were allowed to perform this kind work.

This field has transformed over the years from being just a clerical task related secretarial or filing clerk job to becoming a specialized profession which requires procedural knowledge of the legal field. In the late seventies, due to the increase of professionals in this growing area, organizations were enacted to represent the ideas and self-determinations. One of the pioneers was a Florida based group named SFPA, whish promoted the concerns of the legal assistants.

The main idea was to regulate the career and set the standards to which a person who recognized him or herself as a paralegal had to satisfy. It then became apparent, that the members of this association were adamant to define a line from those who were clerks, assistants or secretaries to those who had the proper training and experience in the field. That movement prompted other organizations to be fo...

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...ges that will arise if a legal assistant or paralegal inadvertently commits an error. Some will even say that if the attorney client relationship lies with the lawyer, why should we waste time and legislative resources to make professionals with substantive legal experience, subject to the pursuit of continuing education? Other members of the legal profession might describe this as, the beginning of an increase to the legal fees.

In conclusion as we strive to stay current in this rapid changing and demanding legal field, we need to maintain focus on what is at stake here, the quality of service we demand from lawyers and their agents. Clients deserve to be assisted by the people who know their profession and so, we must be in favor of the legislative movement of the control of the paralegal profession.

Works Cited

Chapter 20 Florida Registered Paralegal Program