According to California Code 6450, a paralegal is defined as “a person who holds himself or herself out to be a paralegal, who is qualified by education, training, or work experience, who either contracts with or is employed by an attorney, law firm, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity, and who performs substantial legal work under the direction and supervision of an active member of the State Bar of California, as defined in Section 6060, or an attorney practicing law in the federal courts of this state, that has been specifically delegated by the attorney to him or her.”

Defined in this code are the many qualifications that require paralegals to be educated and trained to a certain degree. Because California has the most requirements for paralegals, we’ll discuss those in detail throughout this article.

Tasks Allowed

Tasks and responsibilities that paralegals are allowed to do specified throughout Code 6450 include, but are not limited to:

• Case planning and development;
• Legal research, study, and management;
• The interviewing of clients and cases;
• Retrieval of facts and information surrounding cases and hearings;
• Drafting and analyzing legal documents;
• Collecting and organizing technical documents and information for supervising attorney;
• The representation of clients before a state or federal agency if allowed by that organization.

Task Not Allowed

Following you will find a concise list of the things that paralegals are not allowed to participate in or administer according to California law:

• Provide legal advice of any kind;
• Represent a client in court;
• Draft, select, explain, or recommend the use of any legal document to or for any person other than their direct supervising attorney of the paralegal;
• Act as a runner or capper according to Sections 6151 and 6152;
• Engage in anything that pertains to the unlawful practice of law;
• Be contracted to do paralegal work by anybody who is not considered an attorney;
• Establish and set the fees for paralegal services to a client of the law firm they are employed with (this does not apply to paralegals setting fees for paralegal services to attorneys, law firms, corporations, governmental agencies, or other entities in the subdivision).

Education Requirements in California

California has some of the most severe rules about who can be called, or even operate as, a paralegal. If you desire to become a paralegal and are residing in the state of California, you’ll need to possess at least one of the following to professionally deliver your services as a paralegal:

1. A certificate of completion of an ABA-approved paralegal program.
2. A certificate of completion of a paralegal program, or degree, from a postsecondary institution that requires at least 24 credits per semester of law-related courses and is accredited by a national or regional accrediting organization (or approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education).
3. A Bachelor degree in any subject with a minimum of one year in law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney who has been an active member of the State Bar of California for at least the last 3 years or who has practiced in the federal courts of California for the last 3 years (with a written declaration from said attorney stating that you are a qualified paralegal and can perform the tasks needed).
4. High school diploma or GED, three years of law-related experience under the supervision of an attorney (as above in #3), and a written declaration from said attorney stating you are qualified to carry out paralegal tasks. This experience and training should be completed no later than December 31, 2003.

Conclusion

California is one state that requires a high level of training and education for anybody to be able to consider themself a paralegal. If you want to earn a decent paralegal salary in this state, you’ll need to be able to understand these rules and regulations before you can start professionally performing the tasks of a legal assistant. Become familiar with these requirements and you will be quite successful in your future career as a paralegal.