April 9, 2023
Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court adopted new rules to create a program to license legal paraprofessionals to perform certain limited legal services. You can read the Supreme Court's full opinion here. You can also read a press release here.
As you probably know, Arizona, Minnesota, Oregon [also here], and Utah already have similar programs. California is considering creating one. The first one in the country was created in Washington (state, not DC) but it was abandoned a few years later.
According to the new rules in Colorado, licensed paraprofessionals will be allowed to complete and file standard pleadings, represent clients in mediation, accompany clients to court proceedings, and respond to a court’s factual questions but will not be allowed to represent clients in oral arguments or to examine witnesses in a hearing.
To obtain a license, the paraprofessional will be required to pass a written licensed legal paraprofessionals exam, submit to a character and fitness review, pass an ethics class, and pass a professional conduct exam. They will also have to complete 1,500 hours of law-related practical experience, including 500 hours of experience in Colorado family law. The rules also provide for a disciplinary process which is similar to the process for Colorado lawyers.
UPDATE 4/10/23: Thanks to a reader of the blog for letting me know that New Hampshire also has a rule that allows paraprofessionals to provide certain types of legal services under certain circumstances. You can find the rule here.
New Hampshire also has a new program allowing limited paralegal representation in certain districts in family and landlord-tenant cases. See https://www.nhbar.org/newly-enacted-paraprofessional-pilot-program-helps-promote-access-to-justice/. The statute is at https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XXX/311/311-2-a.htm. Though the article says that "paraprofessional representation" won't begin until 2025, I happen to know of one case in the past month when a paralegal represented a client in a domestic violence order of protection hearing (with a supervising attorney present).
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