The importance of certification to the paralegal profession
The paralegal profession is a serious profession, and it should be recognized as
such. Having a proper system in place to validate the qualifications and competence of
paralegals is the first step to bringing public recognition to the profession.
After some forty years of existence of the profession, it is regrettable that a lot of
attorneys, and more so their clients, are still unable to tell the difference between a
paralegal and a legal secretary, though both are equally important to the delivery of
legal services. The lack of a conceptual distinction between the two is undesirable
because it leads to the under-utilization of the capabilities of the paralegal, makes it
more difficult to justify the paralegal hours billed to the client, and makes the overall
provision of legal services less cost-effective. With a publicly recognized, welladministered, and rigorous certification system, we are one step closer to educating
attorneys and the public about the distinctive and valuable role paralegals play.
A paralegal is qualified by education and experience to perform, under an
attorney's supervision, substantive legal tasks which require a good understanding of
legal principles and procedures. While it is commendable that many legal secretaries
over time evolve into paralegals after acquiring the "education and experience" that is
commensurate with the definition of a paralegal, an employer who needs someone to
perform "substantive legal work" should hire an attorney or a paralegal, not a legal
secretary. Having a certification system for paralegals will make employers' hiring
decisions easier, and prospective paralegals' entry into the field easier. It also makes it
easier for courts to award fees for paralegals' work.
Certification can be administered by state bars, state paralegal associations, or
national paralegal associations; it can be voluntary or mandatory. Currently in Texas,
paralegal certification is voluntary and is offered by national paralegal associations such
as NALA or NFPA. Certification in specialized areas of law is offered through the State
Bar of Texas.
Common to all certification programs are built-in features to ensure a good level
of competence. First, the credential of being "certified" comes only after passing
rigorous examinations that test the skills and knowledge that are required to perform
substantive legal work. Second, recertification requires completing a minimum number
of CLE hours, which compels the paralegal to update his or her knowledge and skills in
the field. Third, the "certified" paralegal is expected to conduct him-or-herself in
compliance with the ethical standards of the legal profession. Invariably, there is an
ethics component to the examinations, and a minimum ethics CLE requirement to
remain certified. The certifying board can also revoke the credential if a paralegal is
convicted of felony, or found to have violated the code of ethics and professional
conduct endorsed by the board.
That certifying boards have the authority to sanction certified paralegals blurs the
concepts of certification and regulation. In the absence of a licensing regime for
paralegals in the majority of states, including Texas, the paralegal profession is
basically not regulated by state agencies or the state bar. Voluntary regulation exists in
the form of voluntary membership of paralegal associations, which usually require
members to possess the minimum requisite education and to adhere to a defined set of
professional conduct, but do not vet the competence of each member. Certification, with
the institutionalized mechanisms described above, serves as a middle ground between
voluntary regulation through membership of organizations and mandatory licensing of
all who call themselves paralegals.
Certification, on the other hand, can only serve as an indicator and not a
foolproof guarantee of competence. As with all professionals, a properly certified
paralegal can still be sloppy in performing substantive legal tasks, bring undesirable
attitudes to the workplace, or engage in behavior that borders the unethical.
Occasionally, the court will reprimand the inappropriate behavior; but most of the time
disciplinary matters will be left to the supervising attorney or the firm. In general,
however, a paralegal who bothers to go through the certification process and remains
certified tends to be motivated and committed to the profession.
The paralegal profession has come a long way since the early 1970s. Now the
trend is towards specialization. Certification in specialized practice areas gives rise to
higher expectations of the knowledge and competence of the "specialist" thus certified.
The implications on the paralegal profession can be profound. For example, it is not
impossible to envisage eventually a movement towards relaxing the definition of
"unauthorized practice of law" (UPL), which is strictly construed at present. Specialized
paralegals may one day be able to independently provide limited legal services in
limited areas, which may help lower the cost and increase the overall accessibility of
legal services.
Whether certification should be mandatory, or made prerequisite to entry into the
profession, is beyond the scope of this short essay. Suffice it to say that certification
raises the profile of the paralegal profession by providing recognizable parameters for
assuring the qualification and competence of individual paralegals. It helps streamline
hiring decisions, shape public expectations of, and build public confidence in, the
profession.