Whatever happened to the “lost” law school graduates after the 2008 market crash who couldn’t find legal employment anywhere? Apparently they are all employed, as more and more states are moving to license legal technicians. With their foot already planted in some jurisdictions, we can only expect to see these roles ramp up and perhaps even expand in-house. So much for spending years in law school and racking up loads of debt to pay for it. And you thought the Big 4’s power moves into the legal sector were all you had to be concerned about. Access to justice is touted as a laudable goal, but as with all things that come out of a lab, the endgame is unknown. Perhaps “justice” for existing lawyers will also factor into the equation at some point. If not, let’s permit lawyers to apply to remove “juris” from their J.D. degrees and begin practicing medicine. What could go wrong?
“The New Mexico Supreme Court has appointed a work group to consider whether the state should allow licensed legal technicians to provide civil legal services. The court has asked the group to submit a report by January 2020…Washington was the first state to allow nonlawyer legal technicians to help close the justice gap by providing assistance in domestic relations. The state plans to license technicians in other areas in the future. Utah followed with rules allowing licensed paralegal practitioners to help clients in cases involving family law, eviction and some debt collection matters.”
Read: Facing shortage of lawyers in some areas, this state is considering licensing legal technicians at ABA Journal – Daily News