Paralegals are legally allowed to perform substantive legal work that an attorney delegates to them, including legal research, drafting documents, managing cases, interviewing clients and witnesses, preparing for trial, and filing paperwork with courts and agencies. The hard limit is independent legal judgment: a paralegal cannot give legal advice, represent a client in court, accept a case, or set fees. Everything the paralegal does flows through a supervising attorney who reviews the work and carries professional responsibility for it.
Work a Paralegal Can Do Under Attorney Supervision
The American Bar Association defines a paralegal as someone qualified by education, training, or work experience who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.1American Bar Association. Current ABA Definition of Paralegal Within that framework, a lawyer may delegate any task the lawyer would normally handle, except those reserved by law to a licensed attorney.2American Bar Association. ABA Model Guidelines for the Utilization of Paralegal Services That covers a wide range of day-to-day legal work:
- Reviewing statutes, regulations, and case law to identify arguments and authorities relevant to a client’s situation.
- Drafting pleadings, motions, contracts, demand letters, and correspondence for the supervising attorney to review, revise, and sign.
- Organizing files, tracking deadlines, managing discovery, and coordinating depositions and hearings.
- Interviewing clients and witnesses to gather facts, without advising them on strategy or rights.
- Assembling exhibits, summarizing testimony, preparing trial notebooks, and coordinating with expert witnesses.
- Filing documents with courts, agencies, and corporate registries on the attorney’s behalf.
The operative word is “delegated.” The attorney decides what theory to pursue and what motion to file. The paralegal executes, often more efficiently than the attorney would, but the judgment call sits with the lawyer.
The Line Between Legal Information and Legal Advice
This distinction trips up more paralegals than any other. A paralegal can share legal information. A paralegal cannot give legal advice.
Legal information describes how the system works: what forms exist, what the deadlines are, what steps a process involves, what a statute says. Legal advice tells a specific person what they should do about their specific situation. Explaining that a court requires a particular form for a custody modification is information. Telling a client they should file for a custody modification because the facts favor them is advice.
When a client asks, “what should I do?”, the correct move is to route the question to the supervising attorney. The practical skill is noticing how naturally a conversation drifts toward advice, especially when the paralegal knows the area well enough to have a view.
What a Paralegal Cannot Do
Anything that calls for independent legal judgment or that creates a direct professional relationship with the client is off-limits. The ABA Model Guidelines and the NALA Code of Ethics draw essentially the same lines:3NALA – The Paralegal Association. NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility
- Giving legal advice. A paralegal cannot tell a client what their rights are, recommend strategy, or predict case outcomes.
- Representing clients in court. Appearing before a judge on a client’s behalf is reserved to licensed attorneys, with the narrow exceptions below.
- Establishing the attorney-client relationship. A paralegal cannot accept a case or decide whether the firm will take a matter.
- Setting or negotiating legal fees. Fee agreements are between the attorney and the client.
- Signing documents that require an attorney’s certification, including court filings and opinion letters.
These limits exist because the practice of law requires someone who has passed the bar, carries malpractice coverage, and answers to the state’s disciplinary authority. A paralegal operates under the attorney’s license, not their own.4American Bar Association. ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 5.5 – Comment on Unauthorized Practice of Law
Supervision is not a formality. Under ABA Model Rule 5.3, the supervising lawyer must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the paralegal’s conduct is compatible with the lawyer’s own professional obligations and is answerable for conduct the lawyer ordered, knowingly ratified, or failed to correct in time.5American Bar Association. Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 5.3 – Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistance In practice, that means the attorney reviews work product before it leaves the firm and remains available for questions.
When Non-Attorneys Can Represent People
There are real exceptions to the “only attorneys can represent clients” rule, mostly in federal administrative forums and in a handful of state programs.
Federal Agency Proceedings
Many federal agencies allow non-attorneys to appear in administrative hearings. The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review runs an accreditation program that allows qualified individuals affiliated with recognized nonprofit organizations to represent people in immigration court and before the Board of Immigration Appeals.6U.S. Department of Justice. Recognition and Accreditation (R&A) Program Accredited representatives must work through recognized organizations with federal tax-exempt status, and accreditation lasts three years with training requirements for renewal.7eCFR. 8 CFR 1292.1 – Representation of Others
The Social Security Administration permits non-attorneys to handle disability claims at every level of administrative review. To qualify for direct fee payment, a non-attorney representative needs either a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or four years of relevant professional experience plus a high school diploma, together with a background check and a qualifying exam.8Social Security Administration. Direct Payment to Eligible Non-Attorney Representatives
Other agencies with provisions for non-attorney representation include the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Labor, the IRS (through enrolled agents and CPAs for tax matters), FEMA, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Each agency sets its own qualifications, so rules differ by forum.
State-Licensed Paralegal Programs
A small number of states have created formal licensing programs that allow qualified paralegals to provide limited legal services directly to the public without attorney supervision. Practice is typically limited to specific areas such as family law, landlord-tenant disputes, and small-dollar debt collection. Licensed practitioners in these programs can advise clients, prepare and file documents, negotiate settlements, and sit with clients during court proceedings. The scope is deliberately narrow, but inside it they function closer to limited-practice attorneys than to traditional paralegals.
Other states recognize “legal document preparers” or “legal document assistants” who help self-represented people complete and file paperwork. These roles are more restricted: a document preparer can provide general information and supply forms but cannot recommend a strategy or opine on a person’s rights. Programs of this kind usually require certification, bonding, and continuing education.
These programs are exceptions. In most of the country, a paralegal who wants to do legal work must do it under attorney supervision.
Ethical Duties That Bind the Paralegal Directly
Paralegals are bound by rules that largely mirror those governing their supervising attorneys. Three duties come up constantly.
Confidentiality
Everything the paralegal learns about a client matter is confidential, not just what the client says directly but all information related to the representation, regardless of source.9American Bar Association. Model Rules of Professional Conduct – Rule 1.6 Confidentiality of Information – Comment The duty outlasts the engagement. A paralegal who changes firms still cannot reveal confidential information from a former employer’s clients.3NALA – The Paralegal Association. NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Conflicts of Interest
Paralegals must disclose any pre-existing client or personal relationship that could conflict with the firm’s or a client’s interests.3NALA – The Paralegal Association. NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility This surfaces most often when a paralegal moves between firms. If the paralegal worked on a case at a prior firm and the new firm represents the opposing party, the conflict has to be flagged immediately, and firms typically screen the paralegal from the matter.
Identifying as a Paralegal
A paralegal must be clearly identified as a paralegal in professional interactions. The ABA Model Guidelines direct attorneys to introduce paralegals by name and title to clients, courts, and other attorneys, and to make sure business cards and letterhead reflect the paralegal designation. Titles typically reserved for attorneys, such as “associate” or “counsel,” are off-limits. The rule protects clients and third parties from believing they are dealing with a licensed attorney.
Consequences of Crossing the Line
Unauthorized practice of law is a criminal offense in every state. Most states treat a first offense as a misdemeanor carrying fines and possible jail time; some escalate to a felony for repeat offenders. Civil liability is possible as well, including restitution to anyone harmed.
The consequences do not stop with the paralegal. The supervising attorney faces professional discipline that can range from reprimand to suspension or disbarment, depending on how seriously the supervisory duty was neglected. A firm that allows or encourages paralegals to practice beyond their authority puts its reputation and its lawyers’ licenses at risk. The NALA Code of Ethics makes its very first canon a prohibition on engaging in, encouraging, or contributing to unauthorized practice.3NALA – The Paralegal Association. NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Certification and State Requirements
No federal law requires paralegals to hold a specific certification, but voluntary national credentials carry weight in hiring. NALA offers the Certified Paralegal (CP) credential, with three eligibility pathways based on combinations of education and paralegal experience.10NALA. Eligibility Requirements for Certification The National Federation of Paralegal Associations offers the PACE Registered Paralegal (RP) and the CORE Registered Paralegal (CRP) credentials, each with its own eligibility rules. Both organizations require continuing legal education for renewal.
State requirements vary. Some states mandate registration for anyone using the “paralegal” title, some set educational qualifications, and many impose nothing beyond the requirement to work under attorney supervision. A few require continuing education regardless of national credentials. If you are entering the profession or relocating, check the state bar’s rules on paralegal qualifications early; surprises after you have started working are harder to fix.