![]() The paralegal profession arose in the 1960s as a way to increase the availability of legal services to more socioeconomic classes, and thus empowered individuals who might have been considered “legal secretaries” in the past to do more legally substantive work. #PARALEGAL BILLING TIMER LICENSE#Paralegals, on the other hand, generally are not required to hold any specific license or certifications, and while there are paralegal educational programs, their job is mostly circumscribed by what they cannot do as opposed to what they can do. A person cannot hold themselves out as a lawyer or conduct attorney work unless they have passed the bar examination, been admitted to the state bar, and continue to honor the state bar regulations. Lawyers, of course, are heavily regulated by the bar associations of the states in which they reside. The job of a paralegal is not always clearly defined. Paralegals often face these same questions, and it is your job as the attorney to provide clear guidelines on what types of tasks paralegals should bill their time for to the client. When your client is the one bringing up these questions on a bill reflecting questionable tasks at attorney rates, then you might face a whole lot more scrutiny, resulting in delayed payments, disputes, and general loss of goodwill that can affect future business and referrals. One of the most common challenges that new attorneys face is knowing the answer to the question of “can I bill for this task?” Clearly, showing up in court, talking to your client about his or her legal issues, and drafting legal documents are all billable tasks, but what about making copies after the secretary has left for the night? Oftentimes, more senior attorneys do not provide clear answers to these questions, and guesswork often comes into play. ![]()
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