Paralegal Division Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
Javan Johnson, ACP, President
Paralegal Division, State Bar of Texas
In October 23, 1981, the State Bar of Texas formed the first paralegal
division of a state bar in the United States. That is the formal date the
Paralegal Division (PD), formerly the Legal Assistants Division, was
established. October 23, 2006 marks the 25th Anniversary of the Division. The
official purpose for the PD is "To enhance paralegal's participation in the
administration of justice, professional responsibility and public service in
cooperation with the State Bar of Texas." PD has been a leader, and remains
a leader in continuing to establish the parameters of professionalism issues
facing our profession.
As is done for any milestone birthday, the Board of Directors of PD thought
it appropriate to share a historical overview of the past 25 years for our
members. We hope you enjoy seeing the growth and progress PD has made through
those years. It is only the highlights w there was a lot more work going on that
this history overview has time to reveal!
1982 The Bylaws, Code of Ethics, letterhead, seal, membership cards
and membership certificates were approved, as well as nine standing committees
to conduct the work of the Division. Charter memberships were approved during
that first year through June 29, 1982. PD had 1013 charter members as of that
date. Charter members were given a nice certificate that bore the words
"Charter Member" and the date June 1, 1982, and signed by the State
Bar President at that time, Wayne Fisher. President Fisher delivered the
luncheon address at the first annual meeting of the PD and shared these words:
Your presence here today confirms my belief that the time has come for the
legal profession to recognize the paralegal profession and for us to move
forward in cooperation and mutual support to provide better services to the
public we serve... Let us assure you that the State Bar is not trying to
impose anything on the paralegals in Texas, much less the paralegal profession
throughout the country. We realize that what we are doing will have an impact,
and for that reason we are just as concerned as others may be. We only ask
that your Division be a chance to show what that impact will be. Active
participation by the membership will have a direct effect on that impact. ...I
challenge you to fight for what you believe in. ...
1983 The first Board of Director elections were held. The Standing Rules
were established that enhance the work of the Division as to the Bylaws.
Questionnaires were mailed to paralegals regarding the issue of voluntary
certification. Even at this early date, PD was looking into enhancing the
professionalism of paralegals.
1984 A second questionnaire was sent out to paralegals regarding
voluntary certification. Education programs were reviewed and the first Division
newsletter was published.
1985 The public hearings regarding voluntary certification began.
There were initially two proposals: (1) create a PD exam, or (2) utilize the CLA
exam with a Texas substantive law section added. Membership grew to 1500
members. The second survey regarding voluntary certification was mailed.
1986 A sustaining member category was added for law firms,
corporations, and other individuals or entities supporting the Division. It was
decided that more fact finding was needed regarding the voluntary certification
issues. Public hearings on proposals for voluntary certification were held in
seven major cities.
1987 A Task Force for Voluntary Certification was established. The
Board of Directors resolved to go forward with a Texas exam, although no
definitive exam was discussed. Educational programs were created in a list
format that offered paralegal training to be available to attorneys and
paralegals. Mock grievance procedures were conducted by the Ethics Committee.
1988 Funds were allocated for future implementation of a certification
program. Membership increased to 1800. A special committee was formed to
determine whether an executive director should be retained.
1989 The necessity for hiring an Executive Director became apparent. A
look at whether to allow PD to become a non-profit corporation was voted down. A
special committee was formed to provide recommendations for processing
membership applications.
1990 An ad hoc committee was formed to digest the data on voluntary
certification. A formal list of benefits was prepared and published to members.
The State Bar agreed to keep track of continuing legal education hours and
provide a transcript for $5.00. Norma Hackler was hired as Executive Director.
An in-depth look was taken on the recommendations for processing membership
applications, including "substantive" and "law related"
legal work definitions.
1991 The voluntary certification digest was released and the consensus
was that PD would support a certification exam. A Voluntary Certification Task
Force was created to work with PD. This was the year that student membership
category was added. The Division's finances/bookkeeping totally separated from
the Bar during this year to allow us to handle our own accounting. Governor Ann
Richards officially proclaimed, for the first time, that October 23rd would be
Legal Assistant's Day in Texas.
1992 The official PD publication was formally named by Betsy Horn of
Fort Worth as Texas Paralegal Journal. The Joint Task Force on Specialty
Certification made significant advances toward establishing a plan toward
certification exams for paralegals, and the first look was taken at the TBLS
exams as that vehicle. Joint CLE seminars with local associations were sponsored
in smaller areas.
1993 The Concurrent Resolution No. 69 was signed by Bob Bullock,
President of the Texas Senate, and Pete Laney, Speaker of the House, that
October 23rd of each year would be Texas Legal Assistant's Day.
Specialty certification exams were approved by the Texas Supreme Court on
5/18/93 to be given to paralegals by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS).
1994 The Texas Bar Journal January issue was dedicated to paralegals.
The first specialty exams were given by TBLS on 3/26/94 to 157 paralegals.
1995 The Texas Paralegal Journal became a full magazine. The Long
Range Planning Task Force was formed to begin studying future professionalism
issues.
1996 The State Bar of Texas made its insurance programs available to
PD members. Advanced seminars were planned to coincide with the TBLS specialty
exams. A Continuing Legal Education committee was formed to assist local
associations in providing CLE to their areas with help from PD. Budgeting was
made available for the Legally Speaking programs to be taped working with the El
Paso Community College.
1997 The Long Range Planning Task Force (LRPTF) hosted the Fall TAPA
meeting to share information regarding the professionalism issues and was
charged with preparing a preliminary digest of information. The development of a
video on how to utilize paralegals was first discussed.
1998 The LRPTF held its first public hearing held in Corpus Christi at
the annual meeting. It was determined that the production of tapes regarding the
utilization of paralegals would proceed, targeted for law schools. The Executive
Director's title changed to PD Coordinator.
1999 This was the year "Legal Assistant University" (LAU)
was first held in San Antonio with 270+ paralegals coming together for a
three-day seminar covering a wide variety of topics. The March 2000 Texas Bar
Journal issue was dedicated to paralegals. Public hearings were continued
throughout the state by the LRPTF.
2000 The public hearings were completed and the information was
digested by the LRPTF. A Joint Task Force was formed with the Paralegal
Committee to continue examining the issues of professionalism. The LAU
Scholarship was named for Nancy McLaughlin, our TPJ editor who we lost in a car
accident. LAU was held in Austin.
2001 The State Bar College began offering Associate membership for
paralegals. TYLA endorsed the "Profiling the Paralegal Profession"
video. LAU was held in Austin. PD celebrated its 20th Anniversary beginning in
2001. LAU was held in Dallas.
2002 Charter members of the PD were located to join in the 20th
Anniversary celebration at annual meeting. LAU was held in Houston. The Joint
Task Force sought clarification of the definition of "legal
assistant." MytexasBar.com was made available to PD members for updating
membership information.
2003 A public relations ad was developed for PD. LAU was held in San
Antonio. An online survey was conducted by the Joint Task Force regarding the
preferred term "legal assistant" or "paralegal." The online
CLE program began being developed. A job bank was added to the PD website. The
Joint Task Force proposed a new definition of "paralegal."
2004 An emeritus membership category was added, and other categories
were restructured. PD introduced the Ambassador program comprised of past
presidents of PD to travel and speak on behalf of PD. LAU was held in San Fort
Worth. The online CLE program was fully implemented, and mandatory CLE for
membership in PD was also implemented.
2005 A PD representative was appointed to serve on the Board of
Directors of the State Bar College. PD made its first overseas travel to London.
LAU was renamed the Texas Advanced Paralegal Seminar (TAPS), and was held in
Austin. The State Bar approved the definition of "paralegal," and the
Division changed its name to Paralegal Division. PD members were included for
the first time in the Texas Legal Directory.
2006 PD is celebrating its 25th anniversary. An online salary survey
was conducted and the results tabulated. PD traveled to Paris in April. New
"paralegal standards" were approved by the PD and the State Bar, and
are currently being marketed. TAPS is being held in Dallas in September.
While the work of the Division has been vast over the past 25 years, this is
a small sketch of what we have accomplished. We continue to grow and move
forward, enabling Texas paralegals to stay empowered, and to continue to advance
in the legal profession and be the leaders across the nation!
Javan Johnson currently serves as the President of the Paralegal Division,
and is a charter member of the Division. She is a NALA Advanced Certified
Paralegal in Civil Litigation, and a Board Certified Paralegal in Civil Trial
Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Javan is a freelance paralegal
in Longview, and has over twenty-five year's experience in civil trial work. She
has taught paralegals at Kilgore College since 1988. She is a frequent
speaker on behalf of the Division.
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