Intermediate Comp

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Thesis Statement

Paralegal licensing is a big issue for people in the profession and outside of it. Hopefully soon, it will be resolved either way.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Callegari, J. (2011). Paralegals in New York State push for voluntary certification. Long Island Business News. 9190. This article is about how many organizations in New York feel that paralegals should be licensed so that they are held to a certain standard.

Dolan, V. (2005). An Argument for the Need to Certify and Legislate Paralegals. The Legal Intelligencer, Issue 98. This article states that even though paralegal licensing hasn’t been made yet, many states have changed over the years in how they view paralegals. They are trying to set a new standard for the term Paralegal.

Grimes, S. (2000). Wisconsin continues work on licensing proposal. Paralegal Today. 18.2. This article is about is that Wisconsin would require paralegals to obtain continued education. The difference between these articles and the others is the facts that if a paralegal was already meeting the current requirements to practice in that state they would be qualified to apply for a license.

Howitt, C. (2006). Paralegals courting battle; Law Society could be put in charge of regulating industry. Kitchener-Waterloo Record. This article states that in Canada, legislation is trying to propose that Paralegals will soon be required to complete a college program, pass an exam, adhere to a code of conduct, and carry insurance.

Kay, J. (2011). Bills would license, Regulate Paralegals. Brown Daily Business Review, Issue 70. This article was about making Florida the first state for Mandatory Paralegal Licensing. It would make it illegal for unlicensed paralegals to work in the state of Florida.

Kay, J. (2010). Paralegals are Push for Mandatory Certification. Brown Daily Business Review, Issue 163. This article was about Paralegals actually wanting it to be mandatory to be certified in the state of Florida.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Professional Articles

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Popular Audience

My popular audience would be parents, clients, and anyone that might be interested in becoming a Paralegal. My popular audience wants informtion on why Paralegals should be licensed and what needs to be done to get this and also what it would do if they were. I feel that what they would need to make an informed decision on this would be to see both sides of the issue. They need to know why it would seem like a good idea and why it really might not be. I think the best way to get my popular audience to understand these issues is to read an article that gives the pros and the cons. That way they have both opinions all in one place.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Genre Rough Draft

In most professions, becoming licensing is really the only way you would even be able to get a job. With paralegals though, this is a huge debate between professionals and the popular audience. The popular audience feels that Paralegals should be licensed and professionals aren’t so sure. I found two professional articles that gave a lot of good reasons why they weren’t sold on the idea of Paralegal Licensing. “Part of the Legal Team,” by Angela Riley was a really great article. One of the popular audience articles I found was by Lawcrossings.com. That article was also very informative and helpful.

It seems that the attended audience would be for anyone that is or is becoming a Paralegal and is on the fence about this issue. I feel that after doing research on this particular topic even my mind was changed. At first, I felt that licensing was something that was very important and should for sure happen. After I read the professional articles though, I realized that there were a lot of downsides to this happening. All the information in the professional and popular audience articles is crucial in making an informed decision on how you truly feel on the subject.

The purpose for the popular genre is to persuade the general public or even the professionals already in the field that Paralegals should become licensed. They feel that they are being held back by not being able to have as many duties as they truly could. If Paralegals became licensed they would be able to perform such things as wills, handle real estate and process divorces. Paralegals want to be licensed so that they can start to charge more for their services and so they don’t have to be completely supervised by an attorney and can work on their own. They also would be able to provide legal help to many that can’t afford it.

The professional genre wants to explain that just because a paralegal is licensed doesn’t mean that their entire duties would change. Paralegals were created to assist attorneys not to replace them. It seems that professionals are nervous about paralegals being able to get more responsibilities and it would give attorneys some competition because hiring a paralegal instead of an attorney would be a lot cheaper. If Paralegals were to become licensed they would have to take a test which would be very similar to a bar exam. The downside to that would be that it would give paralegals false security because they would feel more like attorneys when they really aren’t. (Riley, 2008)

The professional articles were very good about establishing credibility. Both of the articles I read brought in points that most probably would never have thought of. Paralegals being licensed would mean that the bar would be set to a whole new standard. It wouldn’t just be a perk to have it, it would eventually become a necessarily down the road. Paralegals would have to do similar things that attorneys have to and make a lot less money. They would have to have a degree and take a test to get a license but would make a lot less money than an attorney would actually make. Professional articles always seem to be credible because they are already in the profession and they know what it would truly mean if licensing were to happen.

The popular genre establishes its credibility by giving both points of view in their articles. They state that professionals don’t want them to become licensed because then they feel that attorneys are already licensed and because paralegals work for attorneys there is no need for double licensing. (lawcrossing.com) I think it’s important to show both points of view when debating something that way the audience can make an informed decision on the topic just by reading that article if they want to.

In conclusion, I think the most significant difference between each genre is that the professionals already know how licensing will play out. They already know that it is going to set a new standard and make it more difficult for attorneys to use Paralegals and for future Paralegals to break into the field. The popular genre is only thinking about the potential advancement that licensing would give them. The biggest way they seem to overlap is that they both feel like licensing will change everything drastically. If licensing does happen, attorneys are going to see a huge difference in the number of cases that they currently have. Paralegals as a whole will start to make a lot more money.

Work Cited

Riley, Angela. "Part of the Legal Team." Pro Quest Business, 1 Dec. 2008. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://search.proquest.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/business/docview/345468850/1329271EC1886F04F1/9?accountid=2909>.

Furi-Perry, Ursula. "Paralegal Licensing, Paralegal Regulation, Paralegal Licensing Pros And Cons, Paralegal Regulation Pros And Cons | LawCrossing.com." Legal Jobs, Law Jobs, Attorney Jobs, Paralegal & Legal Staff Job Search, Legal Recruiter | LawCrossing.Com. 13 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. <http://www.lawcrossing.com/article/618/Paralegal-Licensing-and-Regulation-Part-I-The-Pros/>.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Professional Opinion of Paralegal Licensing

From the two articles that I read about Paralegals being licensed it is somewhat a fifty fifty perspective if they think they should be licensed or not. On one hand, it would give them more knowledge and would possibly help them gain more money. On the other hand, the test could be seen more like a bar exam and Paralegals might start to feel like attorneys when they truly are not. It seems that the professional perspective is more against licensing for Paralegals then for it. They would have to pay the Paralegal more and their duties would only slightly change. Right now, Paralegals can do 93 % of what an attorney can do. Also, if a paralegal becomes certified it would make it a standard for what all paralegals have to do to obtain jobs. That would set the bar even hirer and could discourage some people from the profession.

"Open Season on Paralegal Licenses." Pro Quest. Pro Quest Business, 1 Oct. 1999. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://search.proquest.com.proxy.libraries.uc.edu/business/docview/194391433/132927D75912318FB17/5?accountid=2909>.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

After reading all three articles on my hot topic I have realized that the common perception of Paralegals getting licensed is that they think paralegals are just legal assistance's. Therefore they don’t even truly realize that Paralegals even know a lot about the law. Many don’t understand that paralegals are important to the criminal justice system also. Attorneys couldn’t do everything by themselves. If more people were educated on the difference between licensed Paralegals and non licensed Paralegals they would see that being licensed is a step in the right direction. I think it is a good opportunity for Paralegals to be able to get more responsibilities. The biggest issue everyone seems to have about it is that it would cost the public a lot more to hire a paralegal and it would raise the cost of the paralegal to the attorney that wanted to hire them also.