In  a way I envy the lawyers today. They have so much more freedom to practice than I did when I practiced law back in Pennsylvania many years ago. In the old days, we were not allowed to solicit business. It was an offense to even suggest a need for your services. This prohibition goes back to British courts which considered it unseemly for members of the bar to be doing what they considered “stirring up trouble among the populace.” Today, lawyers advertise everywhere if they want to. There is no longer any disrepute in advertising. Heck, lawyers do it, doctors do it. (No fleas have yet been sufficiently educated to do it).

In the dark old days, there was a clear line between lawyers and non-lawyers and never was the line to be crossed. I know many lawyers whose secretaries were far more expert at producing documents than the lawyers themselves. But they remained secretaries and the lawyers were responsible for every word, even if they had not read it. Of course, that meant the client was paying lawyer rates for the secretary’s work.

Today there is an intermediate level of professional, not a lawyer for certain but more than a secretary. He or she is the paralegal, licensed by the Arizona Supreme Court. They are required to take a series of courses to educate them specifically to prepare documents. This is far more economical for the client, and depending on how they are used, relieves busy lawyers of the more routine work that is required so often.

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Most astoundingly to me, paralegals are licensed to offer their services directly to the public and many can and do so without legal supervision. As non-lawyers, they cannot give legal advice but if you know what you want to do, they can prepare any forms you might need to do it. The more professional offices will file your documents with the appropriate court or agency.

Many times you know you need a will or a trust, a divorce, a corporation, any of the many family law adjustments, real estate documents, living wills, or some other clear-cut action. This is perfect for the paralegal who is well-educated and experienced in creating these documents for a lot less cost than an attorney who would do the same thing.

In my mind, the paralegal is about in the same relationship to lawyers as a nurse practitioner is to a physician. They may not have the same education, background or foundations of their work, they are not experienced in doing surgery or trying cases in court. But they know the practical nuts and bolts of routine events that constitute the majority of the medical and legal activity most people are involved in.

Different paralegal service companies offer different levels of service. Some will prepare your documents as compete custom-made products. Others will just fill in the blanks for you. Some will hand you your papers and point you in the direction of the courthouse. Others will file your papers for you with the appropriate agency in the form that particular office likes them in.

There are about a dozen paralegal offices in the Tucson region and of course there are a few nationwide companies that work from offices in other cities. I prefer the local practitioners. I know that each state, indeed each county, has its preferences as to how documents should be prepared. If your papers are in generic form, they may not be accepted. Local paralegals should know their way around the courthouses and agencies and be able to have your papers accepted without trouble.

The leading office in Tucson is Arizona Statewide Paralegal. I have had experience with them and they seem to offer the best combination of service and price. One feature I liked is that each and every document that is prepared there is reviewed for form by an actual attorney. Not many paralegal offices can do that. In fact, Arizona Statewide Paralegal is so expert and reliable, busy lawyers refer their more routine matters to them, confident they will do it right the first time.

Oh, I can think of one thing that was better in the old days. I was younger.

Contact Lionel Waxman at territorial@waxmanmedia.com or visit his website: www.waxmanmedia.com. Lionel Waxman’s Flashpoint commentaries are published in The Daily Territorial.