The Washington Supreme Court last Friday adopted a Limited License Legal Technician Rule, which will allow non-lawyers who meet certain educational requirements to provide clients with technical help on simple legal matters. In a press release, the court said its primary goal was to make legal help more accessible to the public. Nine attorneys will be appointed to a 13-member board that will oversee and shape the program.
Critics, including one justice who dissented, said the rule is "extremely unfair to the members of the Washington State Bar Association." But the WSBA, which had opposed the rule, issued a press release stating that the new rule, "provides Washington with an opportunity to lead the nation in expanding legal services to the people of our state."
California has a legal document assistant program where non lawyers handle document preparation, but the WSB claims this program is the first of its kind in the U.S.
Download the Supreme Court of Washington order.
Posted by SBM staff
