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/>.
