Paraprofessionals: Expanding the Legal Service Delivery Team
![handle is hein.journals/jled24 and id is 405 raw text is: PARAPROFESSIONALS
PARAPROFESSIONALS: EXPANDING THE LEGAL
SERVICE DELIVERY TEAM
WILLIAM P. STATSI[Y
I. INTRODUCTION
In 1970, the Committee to Study the Curriculum of the Association
of American Law Schools recommended that law schools undertake an
extensive program of training legal paraprofessionals.' The Commit-
tee's position was based in part upon its observation of a legal para-
professional program conducted in New York City by Columbia Law
School and the College for Human Services, the Program for Legal
Service Assistants. This paper is a report on the educational and
operational aspects of this program.
In January of 1969, twenty-two trainees began preparing for a
newly created job as Legal Service Assistants (LSAs) within ghetto
legal service offices of New York City.! As of this date, their job
description was extremely imprecise. It was clear what they would
not be doing: since they were not lawyers, they would not be arguing
cases in court and since they were not secretaries, they would not be
typing or heavily engaged in clerical responsibilities. What would they
be doing? A busy legal service office is made up of lawyers, legal
secretaries, receptionists, and in some instances, investigators and social
workers.' How would the LSA fit into this personnel structure?
Would the LSA supplement, substitute or duplicate their services?
How should the LSA be trained? Would the LSA help to lower
the cost of delivering legal services to the poor? Would he be the
catalyst for greater efficiency and more standardization? What legal
authorization did the LSA have for his activities? What career pos-
sibilities existed for him in the future? These were some of the ques-
tions on the minds of program planners and trainees as the Program
for Legal Service Assistants was launched. This article will explore
* Adjunct Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law, former Director, Program for
Legal Service Assistants, Columbia Law School, BA, Boston College, 1964, J. D.
Boston College, 1967, LL.M. New York University, 1970.
I Indi.vidual Training for the Public's Profession, A Report by the Association of
American Law Schools Committee to Study the Curriculum, Tentative Draft 2
(September, 1970).
2 M. Rosenberg & G. Cooper, Legal Service Assistants: Report on Legal Training
Phase of a Joint Demonstration Program 1969-1970, p. iii (1969) [hereinafter cited as
Legal Service Assistants].
3 See Mitgang, The Storefront Lawyer Helps the Poor, New York Times Maga-
zine, p. 34 (November 10, 1968) describing the variety of personnel working for
Mobilization for Youth Legal Services, Inc. in the lower east side of Manhattan.
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Paraprofessionals: Expanding the Legal Service Delivery Team
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