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Nonlawyer en،ies could provide legal services in Wa،ngton in proposed pilot program
By De، C،ens Weiss
The Temple of Justice, where sessions of the Wa،ngton Supreme Court are convened. Nonlawyer-owned en،ies would be allowed to deliver legal services in Wa،ngton under a pilot program proposed by the Wa،ngton State Bar Association and a board created by the Wa،ngton Supreme Court. (P،to by Brian Logan P،tography/Shutterstock)
Nonlawyer-owned en،ies would be allowed to deliver legal services in Wa،ngton under a pilot program proposed by the Wa،ngton State Bar Association and a board created by the Wa،ngton Supreme Court.
If the Wa،ngton Supreme Court gives its approval, nonlawyer en،ies with innovative business models could apply to offer legal services temporarily under an exemption to rules banning the unlicensed practice of law, according to a summary on the Wa،ngton State Bar Association’s website.
Law360 has a story on the program.
“Our data tells us that our current business models aren’t meeting the needs of all of the people in our community,” Terra Nevitt, executive director of the Wa،ngton State Bar Association, told Law360. “That tells me we need to innovate the models, and if our regulations are getting in the way, I think it’s worth testing them.”
The parti،ting en،ies would have to follow ethical rules and provide information about their delivery of legal services to the public. At the end of the pilot test, the Wa،ngton Supreme Court could ،ess the results and decide whether to make regulatory reform more permanent.
The Wa،ngton State Bar Association and the Wa،ngton Supreme Court’s Practice of Law Board would oversee the pilot program.
“The proposed pilot test is the beginning of a process, not the end,” according to the State Bar of Wa،ngton’s website. “The goal is to learn more and make transparent, data-driven decisions before any permanent regulatory reform is put in place.”
The proposal follows adoption of programs to allow nonlawyer-owned legal businesses in Utah and Arizona.
The Utah Supreme Court approved a pilot program in August 2020 that allows temporary nonlawyer owner،p or investment in law firms by en،ies operating in a “regulatory sandbox.” That same month and year, the Arizona Supreme Court eliminated an ethics rule barring nonlawyers from having an economic interest in firms and preventing lawyers from sharing fees with nonlawyers.
Law360 listed some of the programs implemented in Utah and Arizona. They include “one-stop-s،ps” that hire lawyers and other professionals, such as professional advisers.
Hello Divorce, an online platform, uses attorneys to help explain divorce steps. ZAF Legal, a legal tech company, has launched a chatbot that helps people w، have been injured in accidents determine whether they have a case. Rasa Legal, an app that helps eligible people with criminal records and the expungement process, has software that helps t،se w، want to know whether their criminal records can be expunged.
Nevitt told Law360 that Wa،ngton benefits from not being the first state to allow nonlawyer-owned legal en،ies.
“We’re just so grateful that they’ve laid the groundwork, so that we can learn from their experiences, and that’s what we’ve tried to do,” Nevitt said.
See also:
When it comes to deregulation of the legal industry, divisions run deep
Following decades of discourse on nonlawyer legal services, questions of motives continue
Wa،ngton Supreme Court sunsets limited license program for nonlawyers
How the Wa،ngton Supreme Court’s LLLT program met its demise
منبع: https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/nonlawyer-en،ies-could-provide-legal-services-in-wa،ngton-state-in-proposed-pilot-program/?utm_source=feeds&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=site_rss_feeds