LEGAL DOCUMENT ASSISTANT

A 'legal document assistant', or 'LDA' (also commonly known as “legal document preparer,” “legal technician,” “online legal document provider” and “legal document clerk”), in the context of California law, is a non-lawyer licensed to assist with the preparation of legal documents. The profession is similar to a paralegal.
The role of a Legal Document Assistant varies significantly across legal jurisdictions, and therefore can be treated here in only the most general terms. More information is available in state and country specific articles. Some acts performed by Legal Document Assistants may be lawful in one jurisdiction and prohibited in other jurisdictions.
This article relates to the profession as practiced in the State of California, USA. Legal Document Assistants are sometimes incorrectly referred to as Independent Paralegals or Freelance Paralegals. On September 30, 1998 Governor Wilson signed California State Senate Bill SB1418, regulating the legal document preparation profession in the State of California, and creating a new formal title, Legal Document Assistant (LDA).^[1]
While many LDAs have paralegal education and experience, they are not the same as paralegals. A paralegal can only perform legal services under the supervision of an attorney^[2]; under California law, a paralegal cannot provide document preparation services directly to the consumer unless the work is attorney supervised.^[3] Paralegals are prohibited from working independently for the public, but may offer freelance paralegal services to attorneys. LDAs are permitted to provide legal document preparation services to consumers, after complying with the registration and bonding requirements. Neither paralegals nor LDAs are permitted to engage in the practice of law.
Legal Document Assistants are not lawyers and do not offer legal advice, discuss legal strategies, answer questions of a legal nature, select forms for the consumer, or appear in court on the consumer’s behalf. They are professionals, qualified through education, training or work experience, authorized to assist consumers representing themselves in legal matters by preparing and processing the necessary legal documents.
A Legal Document Assistant, as defined by the California Business & Professions Code (Section 6400 (c)) is: ''Any person who is otherwise not exempted and who provides, or assists in providing, or offers to provide, or offers to assist in providing, for compensation, any self-help service to a member of the public who is representing himself or herself in a legal matter, or who holds himself or herself out as someone who offers that service or has that authority, or a corporation, partnership, association, or other entity that employs or contracts with any person who is not otherwise exempted who, as part of his or her responsibilities, provides, or assists in providing, or offers to provide, or offers to assist in providing, for compensation, any self-help service to a member of the public who is representing himself or herself in a legal matter or holds himself or herself out as someone who offers that service or has that authority.''^[4]

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References

External links

References

1. California State Senate Bill SB1418
2. American Bar Association Standing Committee on Paralegals
3. California Business and Professions Code, Sections 6450-6456
4. California Business and Professions Code, Sections 6400-6401.6

External links

★ Alliance Of Legal Document Assistant Professionals

★ California Association of Legal Document Assistants

★ National Association of Legal Document Preparers

★ California State Senate