Limited legal service provision by licensed paralegals approved in Texas

The Texas Supreme Court has provisionally approved new rules that would allow some licensed paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services to low-income individuals.

Under the proposed program, licensed legal paraprofessionals can offer legal services in specific areas such as family law, estate planning, probate law, and consumer debt law.

This move aligns Texas with a growing number of U.S. states seeking to bridge the gap in access to civil legal services by permitting non-lawyers to deliver certain legal services, Reuters reported.

The article outlined that the recent Texas Supreme Court decision shows the state’s intention to address the significant “justice gap” preventing many low-income individuals from accessing necessary legal assistance.

Chief Justice Nathan Hecht stressed the importance of this initiative in a statement. “Ensuring that people, regardless of their economic standing, have access to civil legal services is fundamental to the integrity of our judicial system,” Hecht said.

The Texas court’s order invites public comments on the proposed rules until Nov. 1, with the expectation that the rules will take effect on Dec. 1. This period allows for feedback from various stakeholders, including legal professionals, advocacy groups, and the public.

Initiatives in other states

Texas is not alone in this effort, noted Reuters. States like Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, and Arizona have already advanced similar programs. These states have created avenues for trained non-lawyers to deliver limited legal services and increase access to justice for those who may not be able to afford traditional legal representation.

Oregon’s experience with implementing a licensed paralegal program may offer insights into the potential impact of such initiatives. The Oregon Supreme Court gave final approval to its own program, which the Oregon state bar has been developing since 2017. Like Texas, Oregon’s program aims to address unmet legal needs, particularly in areas having great demand for affordable legal services, such as landlord and tenant cases and family law, including divorces and custody matters.

Minnesota has also explored the potential of legal paraprofessionals to meet unmet civil legal needs. The Minnesota Supreme Court has approved a pilot project that allows paraprofessionals to provide legal services in specific family law and housing disputes. Under this initiative, which began in March 2021, qualified paraprofessionals can offer legal advice and even act for clients in court under lawyer supervision.

Arizona also permits non-lawyers to offer limited legal services to their clients and allows non-lawyer ownership of law firms, a significant regulatory change approved by the Arizona Supreme Court.

These initiatives across various states reflect a broader trend toward rethinking the traditional boundaries of the legal profession. By expanding the role of non-lawyers in providing legal services, advocates for reform say the legal system can potentially be more accessible and responsive to the needs of all citizens, particularly those underserved by the current system.

However, not all states have embraced this approach, noted Reuters. In California, similar initiatives have stalled. Washington State’s Supreme Court decided in 2020 to discontinue offering new paraprofessional licenses after initially implementing such a program.