skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Licensed Paralegals Bring Lower-Cost Legal Services to Utahns

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 18, 2022   

The cost of hiring a lawyer can be out of reach for many Utahns, creating "justice gaps" in rural areas and marginalized communities where fees are out of reach for most people.

A new type of advocate, Licensed Paralegal Professionals (LLPs), could open access to the legal system for thousands of Utahns.

Anna Carpenter, professor of law in the S.J. Quinney College Of Law at the University of Utah, said the Utah Supreme Court greenlighted the program in 2018 after an American Bar Association report found too many people were facing serious legal issues but could not afford counsel.

"The leaders on those courts, the justices, are saying, 'Wow, we're looking at the data, and we see we have this massive access-to-justice crisis. Low-income and middle-income people cannot afford legal services. We need to do something,' " Carpenter explained.

LPPs are mid-level advocates between administrative paralegals and attorneys. They handle cases involving family law, debt collection and landlord-tenant disputes and are licensed to file court documents and serve as mediators. They do not handle criminal cases or appear in court.

In addition to the cost factor, Carpenter pointed out the need for legal services in Utah is growing faster than many law firms can handle. She argued LPPs allow firms to serve more clients at a considerably lower cost.

"Somebody wants to get divorced and has a divorce with custody issues, or you get an eviction notice or your landlord is not keeping up your rental property, or you're being sued for debt, unpaid medical or credit card bills, and that has gone to court," Carpenter outlined.

Carpenter noted practitioners start out as paralegals, but return to school and become licensed by the state. She believes the small but growing number of LPPs is making a difference for Utahns.

"A lot of the LPPs that I've spoken with really are motivated, sort of in a mission-driven way," Carpenter observed. "They're interested in being able to provide lower-cost legal services. They see the need because they watch people being turned away who can't afford a lawyer's retainer or the hourly fee."

Utah was one of the first states to use paraprofessionals, but other states, including Arizona, California, New Mexico and Colorado, have added or are considering them.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021