Paralegal Regulation in Florida
by Jodye Kasher
In 2005, bills were introduced in the
legislature proposing a regulatory
scheme for paralegals in Florida,
which specified that paralegal fees could
only be awarded when performed by state licensed
paralegals. The bills were pushed
largely by paralegal organizations, and the
Florida Bar opposed the proposed legislation,
partly because it believed any regulation
should be not be in the legislative
branch, but rather in the judicial branch.
After the introduction of those bills,
the President of the Florida Bar appointed
a Special Committee to Study Paralegal
Regulation, which consisted of 24 members,
including 3 paralegal educators, and
4 paralegals, as well as members of the
Bar.
After a public hearing in October, 2005,
and much study and debate, The Florida
Bar filed its Petition to Amend the Rules
Regulating the Florida Bar to Add Chapter
20 – Florida Registered Paralegal Program
on August 15, 2006. The filing of the petition
and petition’s proposed amendments
and actions were approved by the Florida
Bar’s Board of Governors. The Florida Bar
then published the proposals in The
Florida Bar News and posted the proposals
on its website. The website directed
readers wishing to comment to file those
comments with the Court. Of the 103
comments received by the Court, 2 were
from paralegal organizations supporting
the proposed comments, and 2 were
paralegal organizations opposing the
adoptions of the proposed rules. The supporting
organizations providing comments
were the Paralegal Association of
Florida and the American Alliance of
Paralegals, Inc. The Court noted, however,
that “One individual later withdrew
her comment in support of the proposed
rules.” The 2 paralegal organizations
opposing the adoption of the rules were
American Institute for Paralegal Studies,
Inc. and the South Florida Paralegal Association
(SEPA). The opposition filed by
South Florida Paralegal Association
(SEPA), can be found at the following
website: http://www.floridaregisteredparalegal.
com/newsarticlesweblinks.html.
Many of the oppositions provided to the
Court were due to the belief that the program
should be overseen by the Court,
rather than the Florida Bar, and/or the
rules presented a conflict of interest.
SEPA’s opposition was due to a number of
reasons, including but not limited to, further
clarification of some of the items in
the rules, and wanting a more mandatory
(rather than voluntary) certification program
with minimum standards of education
and experience.
Florida Registered Paralegal Program is
Established:
The Florida Supreme Court recognized
that the program, at least currently, would
not be mandatory at least until such time
as it had been in place long enough so
they could determine the success and/or
impact of the program, as the Court stated:
“It behooves us to tread with caution in
implementing a registration program for
professionals who have hitherto been largely
self-regulated, so that the efficacy of the program
being adopted and its impact on both
the legal and paralegal professions can be
assessed before any mandatory plan is instituted.”
In their decision of November 15,
2007, in SC05-998, the Court did amend
the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar
adopting chapter 20 establishing the Florida
Registered Paralegal Program, as proposed
by the Bar, with only minor stylistic
changes. The rules became effective on
March 1, 2008.
Currently a voluntary program, the
Florida Registered Paralegal Program consists
of two tiers. Tier one consists of paralegals,
as defined by the Texas Bar Rule 10-
21.1, currently continuing to work as paralegals
(not Registered Paralegals), under
the following definition: “A paralegal is
someone qualified by education, training, or
work experience who, under the supervision
of a lawyer, performs delegated, substantive
work for which the lawyer is responsible.”
Tier two consists of paralegals who meet
the definition of a paralegal, and additionally
the requirements for registration, who
would then be “Florida Registered Paralegals.”
There is a grandfathering period of
only three (3) years (application must be
made prior to March 1, 2011), as set out
below, for paralegals who show substantial
experience, but who do not meet the education
or certification requirements to
become registered paralegals. The requirements for Registration consist of meeting
one (1) of the following:
Educational and work experience requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies from an approved paralegal program, plus one year of paralegal work
experience;
- Bachelor’s degree from an institution
accredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency approved by the U.
S. Dept. of Education or the Florida
Dept. of Education, plus a minimum of
3 years of paralegal work experience;
- Associate’s degree in paralegal studies
from an approved paralegal program,
plus a minimum of 2 years of paralegal
work experience;
- Associates degree from an institution
accredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency approved by the U.
S. Dept. of Education or the Florida
Dept. of Education, plus a minimum of
4 years of paralegal work experience; or
- Juris doctorate degree from an American
Bar Association accredited institution,
plus a minimum of 1 year of paralegal
work experience.
Certification requirements:
- Successful completion of PACE exam
and good standing with NFPA; or
- Successful completion of CLA/CP
exam and good standing with NALA
Grandfathering until March 1, 2011:
- Providing attestation from an employing
or supervising attorney(s) that the
person has paralegal work experience as
defined elsewhere in the rules for 5 of
the 8 years immediately preceding the
date of such attestation. (Time spent
performing clerical work is specifically
excluded).
Work experience in this program only
includes work experience under the supervision
of an employer belonging to the
Florida Bar. Work experience obtained in
other states would not apply to the work
experience criteria, unless it was under the
supervision of someone belonging to the
Florida Bar Association.
There are also provisions in the program
setting out those who are ineligible
for registration, including, but not limited
to, persons who have been convicted of a
felony, and persons disbarred, or suspended
from the practice of law in any state.
Interestingly, although those persons previously
mentioned cannot apply for Registered
Paralegal status, it does not appear
that they are entirely excluded from still
calling themselves paralegals under Tier
One. The Court also noted that the voluntary
registration program does not relieve
attorneys of their duty to monitor the
activities and conduct of paralegals working
under their direction.
The registration fee for the Registered
Paralegal program is paid annually to the
Florida Bar, and set by the Florida Bar at
an amount which is not to exceed the
amount of the annual fees paid by inactive
members of the Florida Bar. The fee at the
time of the preparation of this article is
$150.00 to file the application. There are
also CLE requirements that must be met
of thirty (30) hours every three (3) years,
five (5) of which are required to be in legal
ethics or professionalism. The program
accepts courses approved for credit by the
Florida Bar, NALA, or NFPA.
It is still too early to determine the
impact of the Registration Program as to
paralegal hiring practices in the future.
However, the number of FRPs seems to be
increasing rapidly. As of October 6, 2008,
there are 2,390 paralegals who have become
Florida Registered Paralegals (FRPs).
Jodye Kasher is a Certified Paralegal
through NALA, and a Board Certified Paralegal
through the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
in Personal Injury Law. She has
20 years of experience as a litigation paralegal,
and has worked in a variety of areas.
Ms. Kasher has been a past paralegal seminar
speaker for the Division, as well as the
Institute of Paralegal Education. She currently
works in the Litigation Department of
the international firm of Fulbright &
Jaworski L.L.P.’s San Antonio office. She is a
member of AAPA, STOP, the Bexar County
Women’s Bar Association, and the Paralegal
Division, currently serving as the Professional
Development Chair for the Division.
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