As The Cost Of Hiring Lawyers Soars, Some States Are ‘Legalizing’ Non-Lawyers To Give Legal Advice

Hiring a lawyer and accessing an attorney can be pretty difficult for many Americans and the reason is apparent: hiring lawyers is costly. Especially with soaring inflation, Americans find it difficult to afford to hire a lawyer for legal proceedings. Thus, these citizens – who can not afford to hire a lawyer – lose their cases by default. On the other hand, other Americans can afford to hire professional lawyers, and in turn, these lawyers represent their clients and court and in legal proceedings. Apparently, there is a noticeable ‘justice gap’ in the court system of America, which is why it’s a worthwhile idea to hire competent legal representation and counsel to win in court.

Sora / Pexels / Americans who can not afford to hire a professional, lose their cases by default.

To combat this injustice, many states in America are taking different initiatives. One of the recent initiatives is that some states are allowing non-lawyers to give legal advice and represent their ‘client’ in court and legal proceedings. Needless to say, these non-lawyers are easy to access and afford, and thus, every single American can have access to a non-lawyer who can provide them with legal advice and represent them in court.

At the same time, it is essential to note that these non-lawyers are not professional and certified lawyers. So, having access to a non-lawyer can not guarantee that you will win the trial. However, states that are legalizing non-lawyers have set out a set of prerequisites for these non-lawyers. For instance, Utah has set out a Legal Technician Certificate as a requirement for non-lawyers who aspire to represent family proceedings in court. This means that if you want access to a non-lawyer in Utah, the non-lawyer should have a legal technician certificate.

Mateus / Unsplash / Although these non-lawyers are not certified professionals, each respective state has set out prerequisites for them.

So, if you can not access an attorney or afford to hire a certified lawyer, these non-lawyers can be handy for you. It is essential to remember that if you are in a state that has legalized non-lawyers, you can get legal from these non-lawyers. Likewise, they can also represent in court trials.

What States Have Legalized Non-Lawyers So Far?

Essential as it sounds, the legalization of non-lawyers can play a key role in eliminating the injustices in court proceedings. To begin with, defendants who can not afford to hire a lawyer can have access to non-lawyers – who will represent them in court. Although this legalization is in the initial stage, it is predicted to go a long way.

RODNAE / Pexels / Utah is the first state to legalize non-lawyers.

Here are some of the states that are legalizing non-lawyers:

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Oregon
• Mennosta

Initially, this initiative was taken by the state government of Utah. According to an official statement, the state government of Utah had received an outpouring of complaints about the lack of access to lawyers and attorneys. Thus, the state of Utah has included the legalization of non-lawyers in family cases.

Following Utah, Arizona is the next state to legalize non-lawyers in family cases. Similarly, the Supreme Court of Colorado is also launching a program where non-lawyers can represent defendants in family cases. The official statement from the Supreme Court of Colorado asserted that these non-lawyers “who have some background in law” can give legal family advice and defend family cases in court.