The Texas Supreme Court this week proposed new and amended rules that would allow licensed paraprofessionals and court-access assistants to provide some legal services to low-income Texans.
The new proposal is an effort to address the “justice gap” in Texas that so far has not been significantly ameliorated by other efforts by legislators, the courts, non-profit organizations, bar associations, or attorneys, according to a press release. The release states that many people who qualify for legal assistance in Texas are ultimately unable to obtain that assistance because of resource and staffing constraints.
Justice Brett Busby, the Texas Supreme Court’s liaison to the Texas Access to Justice Commission, said of the statistic that 92 percent of low-income Americans have unmet civil legal needs, “Their basic civil legal needs are real and serious: they include protection from domestic violence, denial of veterans’ benefits, and access to housing and food. […] We must explore innovative structural changes like those in today’s order if we are to close this gap and ensure that justice is not simply a privilege for those who can afford it, but a right guaranteed to all.”
The proposed rules would allow licensed paraprofessionals to provide legal services in a civil suit in justice court such as handling the preparation, litigation, and settlement of a suit, communicating with opposing parties, perfecting an appeal to the county court, and handling post-judgment collection, discovery, and receiverships.
For example, a paraprofessional licensed in family law may, in an uncontested divorce that does not involve children or complex property issues, help a client complete and file forms and represent a client in court proceedings, including preparing affidavits in support of temporary orders and divorce decrees. A paraprofessional licensed in estate planning and probate law may, without lawyer supervision, help a client complete and file forms such as medical powers of attorney, declarations of guardian, statutory durable powers of attorney, and small estate affidavits. A paraprofessional licensed in consumer-debt law would be able to help clients complete and file consumer-debt forms and represent a client in an uncontested consumer debt court proceeding.
Licensed paraprofessionals would need to meet an array of eligibility requirements, pass an ethics exam and a subject matter exam (or meet an exception), pay annual dues, complete continuing education on ethics and their subject matter(s), report the number of clients served to the state bar, and abide by a code of ethics.
The proposal also includes allowing court-access assistants, supervised by a lawyer at a sponsoring legal assistance organization, to provide limited legal services in civil justice court.
According to the press release, Texas’s new rules are expected to take effect on December 1, 2024.
Additional Reading
Supreme Court Advances Access-to-Justice Efforts With Proposed New Rules to License Legal Paraprofessionals, Texas Judicial Branch (August 6, 2024)
Rule change to allow paraprofessionals to offer limited legal services proposed by top Texas court, ABA Journal (August 7, 2024)
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