What is a Paralegal?

When I tell people about LegalProse, one of the most common questions I get is, "what exactly does a paralegal do?"  It's easy to forget that something so engrained in your day to day life can be completely foreign to others.  Clearly - it's a topic worth discussing.

Because paralegals are not regulated in BC, there is not one specific definition of a paralegal.  The Law Society of BC defines a paralegal as a

• "non-lawyer who is a trained professional working under the supervision of a lawyer." 

In order to pass work onto a paralegal, the lawyer must be "satisfied that the person has sufficient knowledge, skill, training and experience and is of sufficient good character to preform the tasks delegated by the lawyer in a competent and ethical manner"   This is logical, because lawyers are "professionally and legally responsible for all work delegated to paralegals," and paralegals are covered under the lawyer's insurance.

However, I think that a more useful definition, which helps to describe the duties of a paralegal, as well as the education they receive is:

• Paralegals are legal staff who have been educated in substantive law (legal analysis, torts, contracts & insurance law), procedural law (litigation and conveyancing procedures) and legal skills (research, drafting & interviewing).  Paralegal duties include such things as: gathering, organizing and summarizing evidence, drafting pleadings, motions and affidavits, and preparing file assessments.
  

I'm hopeful that my definition provides interested individuals with a more full picture of what a paralegal does and what their duties typically entail.  If anyone has any suggestions as to a better definition, I would love to hear them!

BC also has a category of paralegal described as a "designated paralegal" but we will discuss that in detail next time!  Thanks for reading!