State Bar Adopts New Paralegal Standards
By Judge Xavier Rodriguez
Although the State Bar Paralegal Division (formerly known as the Legal Assistants Division) was created in 1981,
questions continue to be asked about what skills or education a person should possess prior to being hired as a
paralegal and what tasks may properly be assigned to a paralegal. In 2005, the State Bar Board of Directors revised
the definition for legal assistant to reflect the distinction between a clerical administrative assistant and the
term paralegal, and the division changed its name to Paralegal Division:
A paralegal is a person, qualified through various combinations of education, training, or work experience, who
is employed or engaged by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency, or other entity in a capacity or function which
involves the performance, under the ultimate direction and supervision of a licensed attorney, of specifically
delegated substantive legal work, which work, for the most part, requires a sufficient knowledge of legal principles
and procedures that, absent such person, an attorney would be required to perform the task.
On April 21, 2006, the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors approved amending this definition by including
the following voluntary standards, which are intended to assist the public in obtaining quality legal services,
assist attorneys in their utilization of paralegals, and assist judges in determining whether paralegal work is a
reimbursable cost when granting attorney fees.
Attorneys and judges are encouraged to use the following standards as a guideline.
Support for Education, Training, and Work Experience
Attorneys are encouraged to promote: (a) paralegal attendance at continuing legal education programs; (b)
paralegal board certification through the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS); (c) certification through a
national paralegal organization such as the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) or the National
Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA); and (d) membership in the State Bar Paralegal Division and/or local
paralegal organizations.
In hiring paralegals and determining whether they possess the requisite education, attorneys are encouraged to
consider the following: (a) specialty certification conferred by TBLS; (b) CLA/CP certification conferred by NALA;
(c) PACE certification conferred by NFPA; (d) bachelor’s or higher degree in any field together with a minimum of one
year of employment experience performing substantive legal work under the direct supervision of a duly licensed
attorney and completion of 15 hours of continuing legal education within that year; (e) certificate of completion
from an American Bar Association-approved program of education and training for paralegals; or (f) certificate of
completion from a paralegal program administered by any college or university accredited or approved by the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board or its equivalent in another state.
Although it is desirable that an employer hire a paralegal who has received legal instruction from a formal
education program, the State Bar recognizes that some paralegals are nevertheless qualified if they received their
training through previous work experience. In the event an applicant does not meet the educational criteria, it is
suggested that only those applicants who have obtained a minimum of four years’ previous work experience in
performing substantive legal work, as that term is defined below, be considered a paralegal.
Delegation of Substantive Legal Work
“Substantive legal work” includes, but is not limited to, the following: conducting client interviews and
maintaining general contact with the client; locating and interviewing witnesses; conducting investigations and
statistical and documentary research; drafting documents, correspondence, and pleadings; summarizing depositions,
interrogatories, and testimony; and attending executions of wills, real estate closings, depositions, court or
administrative hearings, and trials with an attorney.
“Substantive legal work” does not include clerical or administrative work. Accordingly, a court may refuse to
provide recovery of paralegal time for such non-substantive work. Gill Sav. Ass’n v. Int’l Supply Co., Inc., 759
S.W.2d 697, 705 (Tex. App. Dallas 1988, writ denied).
Consideration of Ethical Obligations*
Attorney. The employing attorney has the responsibility for ensuring that the conduct of the paralegal
performing the services is compatible with the professional obligations of the attorney. It also remains the
obligation of the employing or supervising attorney to fully inform a client as to whether a paralegal will work on
the legal matter, what the paralegal’s fee will be, and whether the client will be billed for any non-substantive
work performed by the paralegal.
Paralegal. A paralegal is prohibited from engaging in the practice of law, providing legal advice, signing
pleadings, negotiating settlement agreements, soliciting legal business on behalf of an attorney, setting a legal
fee, accepting a case, or advertising or contracting with members of the general public for the performance of legal
functions.
*A more expansive list is included in the “General Guidelines for the Utilization of the Services of Legal
Assistants by Attorneys,” approved by the State Bar Board of Directors, May 1993.
These standards can also be found at www.txpd.org under the button entitled “Texas Paralegal Standards” on
the left side of the home page.
Xavier Rodriguez has served as U.S. district judge for the Western District of Texas since 2003. He is a
former justice of the Supreme Court of Texas and a former partner in the San Antonio office of Fulbright & Jaworski
L.L.P. Rodriguez is chair of the State Bar of Texas Paralegal Committee.
[Note: Reprinted with permission from Judge Xavier Rodriguez and the Texas Bar Journal. This article appeared in
the October 2006 issue of the Texas Bar Journal.]
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