Martin Paralegal Services LLC is in the business of helping Pro Se Litigants who represent themselves in court, we also help consumers who need legal document preparation on non-court issues. We offer legal document preparation in the following areas: Appeals, Bankruptcy, Civil, Criminal, Domestic, Estate Planning, Foreclosures, Immigration & Naturalization, Juvenile, Personal Injury & Wrongful Death, Power of Attorneys, Probate, Small Claims, Subpoena and Wills. Our additional services include Business Plans for existing businesses, new businesses and start ups in any industry. We also provide Juvenile Justice System Consulting for those parents whose children are involved in the Juvenile Justice System; this is mostly for children who are on Diversion, Probation or Parole. We provide Professional Translations/Interpretation of all Business Documents, fluent in Reading, Speaking, Writing, English to Spanish and Spanish to English.
Martin Paralegal Services LLC will save consumers up to 85% of what they would pay in traditional attorney’s fees for the same services provided on Non-Contested matters. Martin Paralegal Services LLC believes that Pro Se Litigants are severely underrepresented when it comes to having their basic legal documents prepared in a fair, timely, professional and quality manner. Today’s consumers need to be made aware of the choices that they have, not everyone needs to have an attorney represent them in court on Non-Contested matters. Efrem B. Martin has been a certified paralegal for 25 years and understands the need of legal document preparation for Pro Se Litigants. Please feel free to contact us at our website www.martinparalegalservices.com or by telephone 720-980-7155. Pro Se Litigants allow Martin Paralegal Services LLC to be your first choice in preparing your Non-Contested legal documents. Efrem B. Martin BA, 25yrs Certified Paralegal & Owner of Martin Paralegal Services LLC
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Independent Paralegals Improve Access to Justice
Jan 02, 2008
Paralegals who directly help consumers prepare their own divorce, estate planning, name change, and guardianship papers have been around for a long time. Usually, these paralegals gain their expertise from having worked for lawyers or having attended formal paralegal schools. Yet many lawyers have sought to drive these independent paralegals out of business by charging them with "unauthorized practice of law"--a criminal offense in many states. While some of us believe that a thriving independent paralegal industry would vastly increase access to the justice system for the many millions of people who can't afford lawyers, others--especially many lawyers--believe that only lawyers can be trusted to help people with their legal problems.
In October 2007, a Massachusetts statewide commission examining barriers to access to justice recommended that independent paralegals be allowed to speak on behalf of low-income parties embroiled in certain civil matters. According to the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the Massachusetts Bar Association predictably shot the concept down, arguing that poor people deserve legal representation just the same as rich people and that non-lawyer paralegals could not be expected to deliver competent representation. Their answer to the access problem? More court-based assistance to self-represented litigants, more lawyers, and more pro-bono legal services.
This reminded me of an experience I had in California some 20 years ago. I was a member of an ad hoc California State Bar committee (called the Public Protection Committee) that was charged with investigating what role California independent paralegals might play in facilitating access to justice for people who couldn't afford lawyers. We held three public hearings in addition to collecting a ton of information from consumer protection agencies, courts, and other entities that could provide us with a factual basis for making recommendations.
At one of the hearings, a lawyer employed by the Los Angeles legal services program testified that under no circumstances should non-lawyers be allowed to help people fill out the paperwork necessary to fight their evictions. She went on to say that her agency turned away 40,000 eviction cases every year because there weren't enough lawyers to help. I asked her why it wouldn't be better to authorize independent paralegals to assist in these cases. With considerable passion she responded that allowing non-lawyers to help the poor would create a two-tier justice system--which was unacceptable to her--and that the only appropriate way to help the Los Angeles poor fight their evictions was to petition Congress to authorize more money to hire more lawyers. I was so shocked that to this day I vividly remember every detail of the encounter.
Our Committee--four lawyers and four non-lawyers--went on some months later to unanimously recommend the repeal of the California unauthorized practice laws and the creation of a system in which independent paralegals could help people with their legal paperwork. Not unexpectedly, the California State Bar president immediately showed up on local TV condemning our report and literally calling us "brain dead" for thinking the Bar association would ever agree to such a "cockamanie" scheme.
He wasn't far off the mark. It took another 10 years before the California legislature (with no help from the Bar Association) authorized independent paralegals to provide the same kind of assistance our committee had recommended earlier. There are now many hundreds of registered independent paralegals in California (called Legal Document Assistants) that help people prepare the forms they need to handle their own legal work. For more information about Legal Document Assistants, visit the California Association of Legal Document Assistants' website. Independent paralegals are also authorized to prepare legal forms in Arizona and Florida (and perhaps a couple of other states)
What's my point? That lawyers fight tooth and nail to maintain their monopoly and that legal consumers in Massachusetts probably will have a long and rocky road ahead before the Massachusetts powers-that-be finally accept the obvious facts: there are lots of legal tasks that don't require a law school education, and access to justice in Massachusetts would be vastly improved by bringing non-lawyers into the mix of legal service providers.
Steve Elias is the author of many Nolo books, including The New Bankruptcy: Will It Work for You?, Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child’s Financial Future, and Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law. Steve also practices law in his spare time, providing affordable attorney advice to people doing their own bankruptcies with the help of a non-lawyer bankruptcy petition preparer or by using Steve’s book How to File For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
Paralegals who directly help consumers prepare their own divorce, estate planning, name change, and guardianship papers have been around for a long time. Usually, these paralegals gain their expertise from having worked for lawyers or having attended formal paralegal schools. Yet many lawyers have sought to drive these independent paralegals out of business by charging them with "unauthorized practice of law"--a criminal offense in many states. While some of us believe that a thriving independent paralegal industry would vastly increase access to the justice system for the many millions of people who can't afford lawyers, others--especially many lawyers--believe that only lawyers can be trusted to help people with their legal problems.
In October 2007, a Massachusetts statewide commission examining barriers to access to justice recommended that independent paralegals be allowed to speak on behalf of low-income parties embroiled in certain civil matters. According to the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, the Massachusetts Bar Association predictably shot the concept down, arguing that poor people deserve legal representation just the same as rich people and that non-lawyer paralegals could not be expected to deliver competent representation. Their answer to the access problem? More court-based assistance to self-represented litigants, more lawyers, and more pro-bono legal services.
This reminded me of an experience I had in California some 20 years ago. I was a member of an ad hoc California State Bar committee (called the Public Protection Committee) that was charged with investigating what role California independent paralegals might play in facilitating access to justice for people who couldn't afford lawyers. We held three public hearings in addition to collecting a ton of information from consumer protection agencies, courts, and other entities that could provide us with a factual basis for making recommendations.
At one of the hearings, a lawyer employed by the Los Angeles legal services program testified that under no circumstances should non-lawyers be allowed to help people fill out the paperwork necessary to fight their evictions. She went on to say that her agency turned away 40,000 eviction cases every year because there weren't enough lawyers to help. I asked her why it wouldn't be better to authorize independent paralegals to assist in these cases. With considerable passion she responded that allowing non-lawyers to help the poor would create a two-tier justice system--which was unacceptable to her--and that the only appropriate way to help the Los Angeles poor fight their evictions was to petition Congress to authorize more money to hire more lawyers. I was so shocked that to this day I vividly remember every detail of the encounter.
Our Committee--four lawyers and four non-lawyers--went on some months later to unanimously recommend the repeal of the California unauthorized practice laws and the creation of a system in which independent paralegals could help people with their legal paperwork. Not unexpectedly, the California State Bar president immediately showed up on local TV condemning our report and literally calling us "brain dead" for thinking the Bar association would ever agree to such a "cockamanie" scheme.
He wasn't far off the mark. It took another 10 years before the California legislature (with no help from the Bar Association) authorized independent paralegals to provide the same kind of assistance our committee had recommended earlier. There are now many hundreds of registered independent paralegals in California (called Legal Document Assistants) that help people prepare the forms they need to handle their own legal work. For more information about Legal Document Assistants, visit the California Association of Legal Document Assistants' website. Independent paralegals are also authorized to prepare legal forms in Arizona and Florida (and perhaps a couple of other states)
What's my point? That lawyers fight tooth and nail to maintain their monopoly and that legal consumers in Massachusetts probably will have a long and rocky road ahead before the Massachusetts powers-that-be finally accept the obvious facts: there are lots of legal tasks that don't require a law school education, and access to justice in Massachusetts would be vastly improved by bringing non-lawyers into the mix of legal service providers.
Steve Elias is the author of many Nolo books, including The New Bankruptcy: Will It Work for You?, Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child’s Financial Future, and Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law. Steve also practices law in his spare time, providing affordable attorney advice to people doing their own bankruptcies with the help of a non-lawyer bankruptcy petition preparer or by using Steve’s book How to File For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
Monday, August 10, 2009
I Am A Paralegal
To whom it may concern: I am glad to say that I am a professional in one of the best fields in the Legal Services Industry. Being a paralegal has exposed me to the Criminal Justice System and Law in so many ways that would not have been possible in any other professional field. I have been blessed in the last 25 years of learning and meeting some incredible human beings, I have been blessed to have served and helped so many Pro Se Litigants that I sometimes have to pinch myself and remind myself that it is you the consumer in which I serve. I consider myself to be an Informational Provider, I love to share information with people when it comes to understanding the Criminal Justice System and how it works.
My professional career has been very diverse and this happened by choice. I am a former State of Colorado Juvenile Probation Officer, former paralegal in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and Corporate America as a paralegal for Law Firms, I am a former freelance paralegal and was also a paralegal supervisor. I am a former High School and Middle School Teacher, I am a former Restorative Justice Coordinator working with children through mediation. My professional experience has allowed me to share and become knowledgeable in so many areas of the Criminal Justice System that I consider myself a Leading Authority on many areas of the Criminal Justice System and I am not one dimensional. What I have learned in the last 25 years I want to share and help people who really just need some guidance through a very complex court process in which they just need simple answers.
I am never worried about being accused of "Unauthorized Practice of Law" (UPL) I had to deal with this issue everyday while I was a probation officer. I have a very broad understanding of the Criminal Justice System and I am a seasoned veteran paralegal who knows the difference between answering questions and given legal advice. I understand what everyday people who need help on Non-contested matters need. So with all of this I believe this is why I am now an Informational Provider, Pro Se Litigants are looking for simple answers not confusion so this is one reason why Pro Se Litigants should hire an Independent Paralegal on Non-contested matters.
My professional career has been very diverse and this happened by choice. I am a former State of Colorado Juvenile Probation Officer, former paralegal in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and Corporate America as a paralegal for Law Firms, I am a former freelance paralegal and was also a paralegal supervisor. I am a former High School and Middle School Teacher, I am a former Restorative Justice Coordinator working with children through mediation. My professional experience has allowed me to share and become knowledgeable in so many areas of the Criminal Justice System that I consider myself a Leading Authority on many areas of the Criminal Justice System and I am not one dimensional. What I have learned in the last 25 years I want to share and help people who really just need some guidance through a very complex court process in which they just need simple answers.
I am never worried about being accused of "Unauthorized Practice of Law" (UPL) I had to deal with this issue everyday while I was a probation officer. I have a very broad understanding of the Criminal Justice System and I am a seasoned veteran paralegal who knows the difference between answering questions and given legal advice. I understand what everyday people who need help on Non-contested matters need. So with all of this I believe this is why I am now an Informational Provider, Pro Se Litigants are looking for simple answers not confusion so this is one reason why Pro Se Litigants should hire an Independent Paralegal on Non-contested matters.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Legal Services Economy
One of my greatest challenges of working in the Legal Services Industry is that I have been blessed to have been able to help so many people with their Pro Se legal documents where they thought all hope of filing their legal documents in court was gone. As we continue to move forward in 2009 and deal with the reality of our economy which is in chaos, one question seems to come up time and time again regarding the affordability of legal services. I am not an attorney but as a paralegal I am in the position to help educate people about their options regarding Pro Se representation on Non-Contested matters that they can handle themselves without having to pay traditional high attorneys fees. Many people are losing their jobs or are being laid off from their jobs on a daily basis and a lot of them will be looking at ways to save money. I am constantly being asked questions by the general public and Pro Se Litigants in regards to representing themselves in court, and I always explain to people that it is their constitutional right and their own personal decision to decide whether or not they need an attorney to represent them in court on Non-Contested matters.
I know a lot of attorneys because I have worked in the Criminal Justice System for over 25 years and I also believe that people who what to represent themselves in court need to have the information available to them in order to make the right decision. I have spent years in almost every court house in the State of Colorado and I have watched people leave the court house frustrated on just needing to have a question or two answered. In the State of Colorado none of the State employees are allowed to answer basic questions without being accused of "Unauthorized Practice of Law" (UPL) or giving legal advice to people that have simple questions, as a matter of fact signs are posted all over the court house stating "We Are Not Allowed To Give Legal Advice". I have seen consumers so angry and mad at the courts that they just throw their hands up in the air and blame the entire Legal System for failure. I am in business to help all Pro Se Litigants, I am not in the business to take advantage of anyone who is going to represent themselves in court. I have always believed that when people are given good customer service and treated with respect and compassion from any industry you will always have repeat customers because people are loyal to those companies that take care of them. We are in an economy that is causing people to look at alternatives when it comes to representing themselves in court without an attorney.
Paralegals are in the legal profession to help people save money and consumers are using paralegals because they are smarter in their decision making when it comes to saving money. When you use a paralegal you are not compromising quality, you are in fact gaining a better sense of how to save thousands of dollars on legal fees because 99% of all attorneys have or will use a paralegal to draft legal documents for their law firm or private practice this is not practicing law in anyway. As quite as it is kept attorneys would not be able to charge what they charge if it were not for paralegals, I am not saying this to be cocky I know this to be true and guess what attorneys know that this is true also. The Legal Services Economy is not going anywhere, anytime soon, it will only get larger, it will only become more expensive but the key to it all is the consumer has other options. If consumers decide to represent themselves in court with these options comes the responsibility of doing your research and homework so that at the end of the day you get what you pay for. Pro Se Litigants should never sacrifice quality because they donot know where to go and get help, always do your research and homework before making a decision and trust me if you are a Pro Se Litigant you will more than likly end up using the services of a paralegal for your Non-Contested matters.
I know a lot of attorneys because I have worked in the Criminal Justice System for over 25 years and I also believe that people who what to represent themselves in court need to have the information available to them in order to make the right decision. I have spent years in almost every court house in the State of Colorado and I have watched people leave the court house frustrated on just needing to have a question or two answered. In the State of Colorado none of the State employees are allowed to answer basic questions without being accused of "Unauthorized Practice of Law" (UPL) or giving legal advice to people that have simple questions, as a matter of fact signs are posted all over the court house stating "We Are Not Allowed To Give Legal Advice". I have seen consumers so angry and mad at the courts that they just throw their hands up in the air and blame the entire Legal System for failure. I am in business to help all Pro Se Litigants, I am not in the business to take advantage of anyone who is going to represent themselves in court. I have always believed that when people are given good customer service and treated with respect and compassion from any industry you will always have repeat customers because people are loyal to those companies that take care of them. We are in an economy that is causing people to look at alternatives when it comes to representing themselves in court without an attorney.
Paralegals are in the legal profession to help people save money and consumers are using paralegals because they are smarter in their decision making when it comes to saving money. When you use a paralegal you are not compromising quality, you are in fact gaining a better sense of how to save thousands of dollars on legal fees because 99% of all attorneys have or will use a paralegal to draft legal documents for their law firm or private practice this is not practicing law in anyway. As quite as it is kept attorneys would not be able to charge what they charge if it were not for paralegals, I am not saying this to be cocky I know this to be true and guess what attorneys know that this is true also. The Legal Services Economy is not going anywhere, anytime soon, it will only get larger, it will only become more expensive but the key to it all is the consumer has other options. If consumers decide to represent themselves in court with these options comes the responsibility of doing your research and homework so that at the end of the day you get what you pay for. Pro Se Litigants should never sacrifice quality because they donot know where to go and get help, always do your research and homework before making a decision and trust me if you are a Pro Se Litigant you will more than likly end up using the services of a paralegal for your Non-Contested matters.
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