What is a California Paralegal and what are the requirements for a California Paralegal CLE?
(a) A California Paralegal is qualified by education, training, or work experience, that either contracts with an attorney, law firm, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity, who performs substantial legal work under the direction and supervision of an active member of the State Bar of California, an attorney practicing in federal courts of California, that has been specifically delegated by the attorney.
Typical tasks of paralegals include, but are not limited to, case planning, management, development, legal research, fact gathering, drafting and analyzing legal documents, and even representing clients before a state or federal administrative agency.
What California Paralegals Can’t Do
(b) However, California paralegals shall not do any of the following:
- Provide legal advice.
- Represent a client in court.
- Select, explain, draft, or recommend the use of any legal document to or for any person on than the attorney who directs and supervises the paralegal.
- Act as a runner or capper.
- Engage in conduct that constitutes the unlawful practice of law.
- Contract with, or be employed by, a natural person other than an attorney to perform paralegal services.
- In connection with providing paralegal services, induce a person to make an investment, purchase a financial product or service, or enter a transaction from which income or profit, or both, purportedly may be derived.
- Establish the fees to charge a client for the services the paralegal performs, which shall be established by the attorney who supervises the paralegal’s work. This paragraph does not apply to fees charged by a paralegal in a contract to provide paralegal services to an attorney, law firm, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity as provided in subdivision (a).
(c) A paralegal shall possess at least one of the following:
- A certificate of completion of a paralegal program approved by the American Bar Association.
- A certificate of completion of a paralegal program at, or a degree from, a postsecondary institution that requires the successful completion of a minimum of 24 semester, or equivalent, units in law-related courses and that has been accredited by a national or regional accrediting organization or approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education.
- A baccalaureate degree or an advanced degree in any subject, a minimum of one year of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney who has been an active member of the State Bar of California for at least the preceding three years or who has practiced in the federal courts of this state for at least the preceding three years, and a written declaration from this attorney stating that the person is qualified to perform paralegal tasks.
- A high school diploma or general equivalency diploma, a minimum of three years of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney who has been an active member of the State Bar of California for at least the preceding three years or who has practiced in the federal courts of this state for at least the preceding three years, and a written declaration from this attorney stating that the person is qualified to perform paralegal tasks. This experience and training shall be completed no later than December 31, 2003.
California Paralegal CLE
Every 2 years a California paralegal is required to complete 8 hours of continuing legal education (CLE). Of the 8 hours, at least 4 hours must be in legal ethics and the remaining hours can be in either general CLE or any other area of specialized law. All continuing legal education courses shall meet the requirements of Section 6070. Certification of these continuing education requirements shall be made with the paralegal’s supervising attorney. The paralegal shall be responsible for keeping a record of the paralegal’s certifications. Attorney Credits is a State Bar of California Approved CLE Provider and all of our CLE courses are good for California Paralegal CLE credit hours. We have a California Paralegal CLE bundle with 8 credit hours on our California CLE Bundle page.
Attorney Credits is a nationwide CLE provider that has issued over 3 million certificates in nearly 20 years of business. With an easy-to-use website, our feature rich website has been a popular option for California Paralegal CLE.
Notes. This blog post corrects incorrect information in a previous California Paralegal CLE post from last year.