LEGAL TECHNICIAN RULE PROPOSAL

In response to the Supreme Court's directive that the POL Board make recommendations regarding the circumstances under which nonlawyer may be involved in the delivery of certain types of legal and law-related services, the Board has developed a  proposed APR creating Legal Technicians.  Legal Technicians are envisioned to be educated, tested and certified nonlawyers authorized to provide limited legal services in specific areas.  The proposed APR creates a commission to assist in regulating the legal technicians.  Here are the proposed regulations rules for that commission. The Board wrote an article explaining the vision for legal technicians.  The POL Board asked for input from invited guests during its April, May, and July 2006 meetings.  During the October 2006 retreat, the Board set up four sub-committees.  These sub-committees will investigate the feasibility of a legal technician pilot project in four areas of substantive law.  The four sub-committees are: family law, immigration law, elder law and housing law.  Each sub-committee is co-chaired by two POL Board members.  The committee chairs are as follows:

Elder Law: Jeanne Dawes and Cheryl Kringle

Family Law: Rita Bender and Howard Marshack

Housing Law: Nancy Ivarinen and Hon. Jane M. Smith

Immigration Law: Daniel Perez and Stephanie Delaney

Summaries of the sub-committee meetings are posted.  Before making recommendations to the Practice of Law Board, the sub-committees will seek public input.  The Board welcomes your participation in that process.