New Limited Liability Legal Technicians Can Partner With Attorneys!
Washington State just licensed seven Limited Liability Legal Technicians, or LLLTs, according to a statute that the American Bar Association has suggested for all states. You can read a bit about that here.
This action is really the first to open the door for paralegals to have a financial stake in the work that they do under the supervision of attorneys. It still does not mean that LLLTs can give legal advice, or appear in court for clients of the firm; however, they could, conceivably, do one thing that heretofore paralegals could not do. In Washington, LLLTs can now enter into contracts with non-attorneys, on behalf of the firm, for members of the firm to provide legal representation.
In essence, they can be minority shareholders in a firm.
This new state law certainly gives paralegals national recognition for the value that they provide to firms. And, it protects them, as do other limited liability laws, from being personally liable for the debts of the corporation beyond their investment. Read more here. It will be interesting to see which other states adopt the law and begin to license LLLTs.
It seems likely that when LLLTs become invested in law firms, those technicians will be more engaged in their work and certainly earn more. That’s good news for paralegal colleges like Community Care College, which educates paralegals who may one day become LLLTs.