Tuesday, September 9, 2008

No Paralegal REgistration This Year

So reported The Indiana Lawyer on Monday:

The Indiana Supreme Court has declined to create a rule on paralegal registration for the state, putting a kink in an effort that's been under way for years.

This news is according to a Sept. 4 letter by Mishawaka attorney E. Spencer Walton Jr., chair of the Indiana State Bar Association's paralegal committee that has been studying the issue for years and drafted a Proposed Rule 2.2. In October 2006, the bar association tabled the measure for a year and in October 2007 sent a report to the court for consideration.

As it currently stands, Indiana does not have official qualifications in place for its estimated 4,000 paralegals - anyone who wishes to call himself or herself a paralegal can do so. Although the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct govern an attorney's supervision of paralegals, there's nothing currently in place for governing these individuals directly.
For more read Court not ready to create paralegal rule.