Cba Legal Assistants Committee Proposed Guidelines for the Utilization of Legal Assistants
| Publication year | 1985 |
| Pages | 1599 |
| Citation | Vol. 14 No. 9 Pg. 1599 |
1985, September, Pg. 1599. CBA Legal Assistants Committee Proposed Guidelines for the Utilization of Legal Assistants
The Legal Assistants Committee of the Colorado Bar Association has spent the last year formulating Guidelines for the Utilization of Legal Assistants in the state of Colorado. The proposed Guidelines have been drafted with the input of committee members, national legal assistant organizations and members of the Rocky Mountain Legal Assistants Association.
The Committee desires the input of all members of the Bar, and has set aside time at the Colorado Bar Association Convention on Thursday morning, October 3, 1985, for public comment. After such comments have been considered, a final report will be presented by the Committee to the Board of Governors for approval. Following is a draft of the proposed Guidelines and of the Committee's compilation of tasks traditionally performed by litigation legal assistants.
The following are general guidelines established by the Legal Assistants Committee for the Colorado Bar Association. They are intended to suggest a uniform practice for legal assistants in law offices in Colorado and to provide a method for the efficient delivery of legal services. They are also designed as guides as to what may or may not be proper conduct for legal assistants.
These guidelines are addressed only to those legal assistants working under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney. They do not address the whole of the very broad paralegal field, which includes many persons working in law related areas; for example, those employed within what is traditionally referred to as the public sector.
The rapid growth of employment of legal assistants makes it important that attorneys and legal assistants be aware of the parameters within which the services of legal assistants may be utilized by attorneys. These guidelines are not intended to stifle the proper development and expansion of legal assistant services, but rather to encourage effective utilization.
The responsibility for compliance with approved standards of professional conduct rests primarily upon the attorney; however, a legal assistant should understand what may and may not be done.
The burden rests upon the employing attorney to educate...
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