Limited Licensing Proposal – Watch the Presentation to the State Bar on March 23, 2021

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Neither the North Carolina Bar Association nor the NCBA Paralegal Division has taken an official position on this issue.

On Jan. 22, 2021, the North Carolina Justice for All Project (NCJ4AP) team submitted a proposal to the North Carolina State Bar and the North Carolina Supreme Court seeking changes to N.C.G.S. § 84 (Unauthorized Practice of Law) to allow unlicensed law school graduates and qualified paralegals to provide limited legal services to low- and moderate-income North Carolinians. The proposal contemplates completion of certain requirements (e.g., examination, certification, education, experience) prior to licensing.

The documents submitted include the following:

The proposal was created to assist with North Carolina’s access to justice gap. The scope of licensing would be limited to fill a void that, for practical reasons, neither private practice attorneys nor legal aid providers are fully able to address. The proposal requests consideration of limited licensing in the following practice areas: family law, landlord-tenant law, estate planning and probate law, debtor-creditor law, certain administrative hearings, and expungements proceedings.

The project team consists of five members of the Paralegal Division, who are all current or past members of the Paralegal Division Council: 

Co-Authors:

Alicia Mercer, LPP, CSM, ACP, RP, NCCP, SCCP
S.M. Kernodle-Hodges, NCCP, VSP, NCCMC

Contributors:

Rachel Royal, NCCP
Shawana W. Almendarez, NCCP
Morag Polaski, ACP, NCCP

The Access to Justice Gap – A National Crisis

Limited licensing is being explored in other states to assist low- and moderate- income residents, who, for financial and other reasons, are forced to navigate the legal system alone in disputes where civil legal problems impact the most basic human needs including housing, health care, safety, economic stability, and family structure, among others. 

Like other states, the “justice gap” in North Carolina is significant. According to the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, “[i]n 2018, more than 2 million North Carolinians were eligible for the services of legal aid providers (i.e., with income at or below 125% of the Federal Poverty Level). Within this low-income population, 71% of families will experience at least one civil legal problem in a given year. Nevertheless, a staggering 86% of these legal needs will go unmet because of limited resources for civil legal aid providers. There is only one legal aid attorney for every 8,000 North Carolinians eligible for legal services, compared to one private lawyer for every 367 North Carolina residents.”

View a map of current state activity concerning legal paraprofessional regulation as compiled by the project team below:

Proposal Updates

January 28, 2021: The Subcommittee Studying Regulatory Change acknowledged receipt of the project team’s proposal. The subcommittee is under the State Bar’s standing Issues Committee and has the following mission statement: “Several states have adopted or proposed substantial changes to the structure of legal practice and delivery of legal services. This subcommittee will review and discuss these changes, with a focus on the actual impact these changes have had on lawyers and clients. We will consider how these changes may impact North Carolina and whether any of the changes should be considered for implementation in North Carolina. The subcommittee expects to issue one or more reports summarizing and assessing regulatory changes in other states. It does not plan to recommend specific changes for adoption by the Council.”

February 2, 2021: Rachel Royal gave a brief presentation on the proposal during a staff meeting at the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission.

February 19, 2021: S.M. Kernodle-Hodges gave a brief presentation to Chief Justice Paul Newby and the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission via Zoom.

Watch a Live Presentation to the North Carolina State Bar on YouTube

On March 23, 2021, Alicia Mercer will give a 30-minute presentation concerning the proposal to the North Carolina State Bar’s Subcommittee Studying Regulatory Change. The presentation will address the following topics as well as common concerns regarding competition with small and solo firms and protection of the public. The presentation will be followed by a discussion with the subcommittee and the project team.

The proposal presentation will be preceded by a presentation from the Law Society of Ontario, Canada. A representative from the Law Society of Ontario will be speaking to the North Carolina State Bar’s subcommittee concerning its licensed paralegal program. Ontario’s program, created in 2007, was also used as a model for Arizona’s new paraprofessional licensing program, which begins this spring. The proposal’s project team expects the Law Society of Ontario to discuss the success of their program, which will be a helpful precursor to their presentation.

If you are interested in watching the presentation on March 23, 2021, please mark your calendar as follows:

Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Time: 2 to 4 p.m. 

Where: Live via the North Carolina State Bar’s YouTube channel or access the link via the North Carolina State Bar Events Calendar.

If you have questions or comments for the North Carolina Justice for All Project team or would like to request a calendar invite for the presentation, you may email them at [email protected]. For updates, you may also connect with them on Linkedin. The project team welcomes your feedback, questions, and concerns.

If you missed the presentation by the North Carolina Justice for All Project team concerning the North Carolina limited licensing proposal to bridge the access to justice gap, you can watch it at this link: https://youtu.be/6uPuwsfOFYc (presentation starts at ~1:10). That link will take you to the beginning of the presentation. If you want to watch the Law Society of Ontario’s presentation on their limited licensing program, please start at the beginning.

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