The Journey to Licensed Paralegals

Oregon’s legal scene marked a historic milestone at the end of March 2024. The state bar swore in the first group of Licensed Paralegals (LP).

Jody Stahancyk’s former Portland law firm embraced the new model more than any other law firm. Licensed Paralegals was several years in the making.

Nine of the 10 newly minted LPs worked at Jody’s former law fim, a family law and estate planning firm.

“In the 50 years I’ve practiced law, I consider this is my most wonderful achievement, changing nine people’s lives, so they have a career path that didn’t even exist before,” said Jody Stahancyk. “There’s room out there for hundreds of these people. We’re the pioneers.”

In July 2022, the Oregon Supreme Court approved the state bar’s licensing plan for paralegals. The plan allows paralegals to handle certain legal services once reserved for licensed attorneys, including consultations and drafting documents. The rules went into effect a year later. Oregon is among only a handful of states, including California, to license paralegals.

The bar had pushed for the new licensure to make family law and landlord-tenant cases more affordable for average people. A Portland State University study had found that 80% of those who qualified for legal aid still could not access those services.

The licensure program did draw some opposition from Oregon attorneys who saw it as a threat to their livelihoods.

“I think some people were frightened because they thought their jobs would be eliminated,” Stahancyk said. “Nobody’s jobs will be eliminated. That’s not a valid argument. Sometimes people in a trade don’t want other people to participate.”

To receive a license, paralegals must have a bachelor’s degree and put in 1,500 hours under the supervision of a lawyer, show a portfolio of work, and pass two tests. Stahancyk, Kent & Hook employees wrote and produced 33 videos to educate all the firm’s staff and satisfy the training requirements for the program.

“When the people from the bar came to talk to me a couple of years ago about it, I thought it was the perfect idea to help people have better access to justice,” Stahancyk said. “Every lawyer knows their legal assistant, secretary, whatever you call them, is much better versed in the technical side of doing family law and that they are where we go to when we need questions answered.”

Stahancyk said she put out a call for anyone who wanted to participate and nine legal assistants stepped forward.

LPs can help litigants fill out forms, give them legal advice, and mediate between parties to a divorce or custody dispute. They also take on their own clients and carry malpractice insurance. LPs cannot take depositions or ask questions during a trial.

Mitchel Cunningham, who has been with Stahancyk’s former firm since 2016, also took advantage of the chance to become licensed.

“I’ve gained a lot of knowledge in my time here and when the Bar presented this opportunity, I felt I’d be a great fit and something I could do and help people who don’t have the funds to pay a lawyer $300-500 an hour,” Cunningham said.

The billable rates for Cunningham and other LPs is more like $200-250. The LPs are also getting raises.

“We’ve learned the person who wants to do legal resolution services can save money in fees,” Stahancyk said. “Right behind that, they want control of their own cases. What they don’t want to do is get in front of a lawyer who they perceive will take over the case and make them fight with their spouse, and they want education from someone who doesn’t talk to them like they’re an errant child. They want someone with expertise who doesn’t live in a fancy office and look down on them.”