Paralegal News

Sinclair Community College

Paralegal Program

WHAT’S THE DIFFE= RENCE? PARALEGAL VS. LEGAL ASSISTANT

&nb= sp; Ohio paralegals (and paralegals-to-be) will be interested in the letter recently published in the Facts & Findings publication of the National Associati= on of Legal Assistants (NALA) (subscription and membership information availab= le at: www.nala.org.

<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; I recently read with interest an article entitled “Paralegal vs. Legal Assistant” by NALA President, Vicki J. Kunz, CLAS, (January 2004 F&F). I WAS DISAPPOINTED TO SEE THAT THE ARTICLE, AS WELL AS THE TABLE = THAT ACCOMPANIED IT, ERRONEOUSLY LISTED Ohio as a state where the term “le= gal assistant” is the preferred term for paralegals.

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<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Although the Paralegal/Legal Assistant Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association h= as yet to change its obsolescent denomination, last year the Ohio Bar Associat= ion dropped the term “legal assistant” from its application form. “Paralegal” is now the preferred term by the OSBA, and the Tole= do Association of Legal Assistant (the only NALA association in Ohio) is in the process of changing its name to the use “Paralegal” rather than “Legal Assistant.”

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<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Your article cited that Kentucky Supreme Court has adopted the term “paralegal.” As in Kentucky,= the preferred term here in the Cin= cinnati area is definitely “paralegal.” It is increasingly recognized i= n Ohio that legal = support staff, such as legal secretaries, have adopted “legal assistant”= ; as the term they believe more accurately describes their support for lawyers a= nd other legal professional.

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<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; I wholeheartedly respect the legal secretary/legal assistant profession. Nevertheless, my background, education, and experience deserve a clearly differentiated label for my profession. In my opinion, which echoes the position of paralegals in Ohi= o, “legal assistant” is a term with blurry boundaries; “paralegal” is not.

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<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Finally, NALA itself is acknowledging the pervasiveness of the term “paralegal” by pursuing the Certified Paralegal (CP) trademark. Perhaps we will see a day when NALA changes to NAP?

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J= ose Pedro Santos

N= ALA Member and

N= ational Affairs Coordinator, Cincinnat= i Paralegal Association

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&= nbsp; F&F replies: The information in the article, and accompanying table, was based = on our file of documents used by bar associations and other authorities in the= various states. Thank you for calling our attention tot eh Ohio State Bar Associati= on position. The membership application form in our files from Ohio used the words “Legal Assistant” and we will not correct our records. As stated in the arti= cle, the terms “paralegal” and “legal assistant” are used synonymously throughout the United States. The Association’s role in = this debate is to acknowledge this fact, and provide members with choices that reflect their personal preferences and customs in their communities. This debate has lasted for many years, with the preferred term changing from leg= al assistant to paralegal to legal assistant, and now to paralegal. It is anybody’s guess as to how or when this cycle of debate will end.=