Embracing programs recently adopted in six other states, the Colorado Supreme Court has approved a new program to license paralegals and allow them to represent clients in the area of family law. The new practitioners, called licensed legal paraprofessionals, or LLPs, will represent clients in less complicated divorce, child support, and related cases, either on their own or working in traditional law firms.
The Supreme Court adopted the program this past March following eight years of study by two committees, written comments submitted by Colorado lawyers and paralegals, and a public hearing. The impetus for the program is Colorado Judicial Branch statistics showing that 75 percent of all litigants in family law cases are not represented by lawyers.
Under the new program, prospective LLPs will have to obtain1500 hours of experience working as paralegals, including 500 hours in the area of family law. They will also need to have one of five educational degrees, take classes in family law and legal ethics, pass a bar exam in those subjects, and take a professionalism course. In lieu of an educational decree, prospective LLPs can demonstrate that they have five years of paralegal experience, including one year in the area of family law. The first LLP bar exam is scheduled for April 2024.
LLPs will be able to prepare and file court documents, deliver opening and closing statements at court hearings, answer a judge’s questions, and sit at counsel table and answer a client’s questions. However, LLPs will not be permitted to examine or cross-examine witnesses.
Based on the experience of licensed paralegals in other states, the Supreme Court anticipates that LLPs will charge one quarter to one half the rates charged by licensed Colorado attorneys. Proponents of the new LLP program expect that it will enable many middle class litigants to hire an LLP because of the lower costs. The proponents also believe that some low income litigants who cannot obtain legal representation from programs such as Colorado Legal Services will be able to hire LLPs by obtaining funding from friends or family members.
The new program follows the creation of similar programs in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. Although the Washington Supreme Court has decided to sunset the first national program in this area, advocates in that state are hoping that court will reconsider its decision. At least five other states and several Canadian provinces are considering adopting similar programs.
In March, the Colorado Supreme Court promulgated an extensive set of rules to establish the LLP program, followed by the adoption in April of a legal ethics code for LLPs.
In the coming months, Supreme Court committees charged with recommending changes to civil procedure and ethics rules for lawyers will consider rule revisions to accommodate LLPs. Similarly, it is anticipated that statutory changes to acknowledge LLPs will be considered next year by the General Assembly. For example, the well-known attorney-client privilege may undergo modification to include paralegals.
Daniel M. Taubman is a senior judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals, having served on that court from 1993 to 2020. He has been a member of the Colorado Access to Justice Commission since 2003, including serving as an emeritus commissioner during the last three years. In addition, Judge Taubman served on the two committees that recommended the adoption of the LLP program.