For states looking to implement or improve an allied legal professional program, IAALS' new report provides best practices regarding considerations like titles, practice areas, roles and responsibilities, and attorney supervision.
Each state with an allied legal professional program has its own unique qualifications to become licensed, but one thing all programs share is that the requirements are robust. Data shows ALPs competently handle legal tasks and prioritize consumer protection, ultimately increasing access to justice.
The demand for affordable and accessible legal services is resoundingly clear. As allied legal professional programs gain momentum, they are undeniably reshaping the legal profession—even in the face of resistance from some attorneys.
IAALS has released a report that includes multiple research-informed recommendations to help standardize a new tier of legal professionals across states, with the goal of increasing the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public.
The Colorado Supreme Court has approved a program to license a new tier of legal service providers, who will be able to practice in certain types of family law matters such as divorce, custody, and protection orders.
The North Carolina Justice for All Project, created in 2020 to expand access to justice through regulatory reform, is a testament to the power of advocacy and the potential for individuals to drive change.
In Ontario, paralegals have established themselves to be competent legal service providers in many practice areas and are now entrenched in the legal services landscape. Here's what the United States can learn from our experience.
In January, the inaugural Legal Paraprofessional Summit brought together active and future legal paraprofessionals, as well as leaders from a number of states, to learn about the different components of each state’s ALP program and the steps Arizona took to create its program.
Allied legal professional programs have the potential to diversify the legal services market and create more cost-effective legal service models, and they should be created as an important part of a broader legal service ecosystem.
IAALS has released a landscape report along with an accompanying online Knowledge Center that offer a compilation and comparison of existing programs nationwide for establishing new tiers of legal professionals who can provide legal services to the public.
