Regulation/Licensure

Current Requirements

There is currently no requirement in Washington State that a person be licensed, certified, or registered in any way before he or she can work as a paralegal. There is, however, a statute prohibiting the practice of law without a license. This is sometimes applied to those persons purporting to be paralegals and providing services directly to the general public. Currently, in Washington State, paralegals are required to practice under the supervision of an attorney, or pursuant to court rule or federal or state law. See  General Rule 24 - Definition of the Practice of Law (GR 24) and Washington State Court Rules: Rules of Professional Conduct - Rule 5.3 - Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants (RPC 5.3).

Voluntary Registrations

There are certain voluntary registrations and certifications that a paralegal can obtain which may enhance employability. Paralegals may be registered with local bar associations for the purpose of presenting ex parte and agreed to orders and checking out court files. See Certification.

PACE Exam (NFPA)

The Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) is offered by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, Inc. (NFPA) to test the competency level of experienced paralegals. PACE is offered to paralegals who have a minimum of two years' experience and meet specific educational requirements. PACE is designed for professional paralegals who want to pioneer the expansion of paralegal roles for the future of the profession, not to restrict entry into the profession. For more information about PACE, please visit the NFPA PACE web page.

CLE Requirements

There is no requirement in Washington State for paralegals to maintain continuing legal education credits. WSPA, as a voluntary professional association, believe strongly that paralegals should engage in continuing legal education activities. WSPA currently requires its voting members to earn at least 10 continuing legal education credits each year in order to continue as a voting member. See  Membership - CLE.

Proposals for Regulation of Non-Lawyers

There has been quite a bit of discussion, both within Washington State and on the national level, about how to increase Access to Justice for those who cannot afford an attorney and how to also protect the public from the unauthorized practice of law. (See Practice of Law.) These two issues are often thought to be in conflict, but the solution to both may involve some kind of regulation or licensing of paralegals. WSPA representatives are currently working to ensure that the viewpoint of its members is strongly represented in discussions of these important issues at both the State and national levels.

The WSPA Regulation Committee, under the direction of the WSPA Board of Directors, conducted a survey of WSPA members in the Fall of 2004. From those survey results, the WSPA Regulation Committee drafted a "WSPA Position Statement on the Expansion and Regulation of Non-Lawyer Practice" and also a proposed form of a "Washington State Limited Practice Paralegal Rule" which were presented to the WSPA Board for its approval on March 3, 2005. WSPA's position statement and proposed form of Limited Practice Paralegal Rule were approved by the WSPA Board have now been provided to the Practice of Law Board for its review and consideration.

WSPA's model varies from the path taken by states like Arizona and California that are based on legal document preparer type rules. WSPA members feels strongly that requirements of any such proposal here in Washington State should include a minimum education and/or significant experiential component, a competency exam, continuing legal education requirements, and some form of bond or insurance. Readers may review both WSPA's Position Statement and proposed Limited Practice Paralegal Rule on the WSPA Regulation Proposals Page (click here).

Although there are currently no formal proposals for paralegal regulation in Washington State, the Washington State Practice of Law Board (POLB) issued a framework for a proposed rule on the delivery of legal services by nonlawyers in the Spring of 2005, with a series of public hearings. The POLB presented its findings and proposal to the WA Board Association Board of Gorvernors, but the Board of Governors turned the proposal down by a vote of 12-2.

2008 Update:
In January 2008, the Practice of Law Board submitted a new proposal regarding the Provision of Legal and Law-Related Services by Non-Lawyers to the Washington Supreme Court that if adopted, would create a Pilot Program in the area of Family Law .

For more information about the Practice of Law Board, including minutes of previous meetings and to see their schedule of upcoming meetings, please visit their web page.

For another viewpoint, NFPA's views on Regulation were covered in a recent Law Crossings article.

Florida's Move towards Paralegal Regulation

The Florida Supreme Court adopted rules regarding Paralegal Regulation in November 2007.   In January 2008, NFPA responded to those rules and proposed that Florida Registered Paralegal use the designation of "FRP" so as to avoid possible confusion with NFPA's registered trademar of "RP" for paralegals who have obtained their PACE Registered Paralegal ("RP") credential.

If you are interested in the issue of non-lawyer regulation, you might want to join the Positions and Issues list serve or become part of the active Positions and Issues Committee. For more information you can contact the P&I Committee Chair listed below.

Brian Haberly
Positions & Issues Committee Chair
206.318.6712 direct
E-Mail

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