Utah Courts
UCJA Rule 14-113 (Code of Judicial Administration)
UCJA Rule 14-113 (Code of Judicial Administration)
Rule 14-113. Paralegal division.
(a) Paralegal defined.
(1) A paralegal is a person qualified through education, training, or work experience, who
(A) is employed or retained in Utah by a licensee of the Utah State Bar or the bar of another jurisdiction (“bar licensee”), a law office, a governmental agency, or another entity;
(B) works under the ultimate direction and supervision of a bar licensee; and
(C) performs substantive legal work that, for the most part, requires a sufficient knowledge of legal concepts and that, absent such assistance, the bar licensee would perform.
(2) A paralegal includes a Utah paralegal on a contract or freelance basis who works under the supervision of a bar licensee or who produces work directly for a bar licensee for which a bar licensee is accountable.
(3) A paralegal may also include a Licensed Paralegal Practitioner as defined in Rule 14-101. The term “bar licensee” refers to both a lawyer and a Licensed Paralegal Practitioner.
(b) Membership and structure of paralegal division.
(1) A paralegal may become a "paralegal affiliate" of the Bar upon application to the Bar’s paralegal division.
(2) In addition to the application, a paralegal must also submit the following to the paralegal division:
(A) an initial and annual certification of continuous sponsorship of a paralegal affiliate by an employer who is a bar licensee;
(B) a certification by the bar licensee and paralegal that the paralegal undertakes no legal work outside the bar licensee’s supervision or the supervision of bar licensee members of the firm, except that joint sponsorship by joint employers is permitted;
(C) an assumption of responsibility by the bar licensee for the compliance of the paralegal with all applicable rules of the Bar;
(D) the paralegal affiliate's parallel commitment that the bar licensee and paralegal affiliate will notify the Bar of any change of employment of the paralegal affiliate;
(E) evidence of compliance with the CLE requirements as reflected on the membership application; and
(F) an appropriate fee.
The paralegal affiliate's authority to function as a paralegal affiliate will terminate concurrent with employment by the sponsor unless sponsorship is accepted by another employer-licensee of the Bar.
(3) Except for the fee requirement in (b)(2)(F), the membership requirements of paragraph (b)(2) are waived if the applicant is an active member of the Bar as a Licensed Paralegal Practitioner.
(c) Officers of paralegal division and ex officio membership on the Board. The paralegal division may appoint a Chair, Chair-Elect, Finance Officer, and Secretary on an annual basis. The division may also appoint directors, and an ex officio, non-voting member of the Board who will report regularly to the division's membership regarding the overall activities of the Bar.
(d) Paralegal division membership.
(1) Paralegal affiliates are eligible to receive the Utah Bar Journal, notices of Bar functions, and bar-licensee rates at seminars and meetings. Paralegal affiliates are not eligible for office within the Bar.
(2) Except for Licensed Paralegal Practitioners, paralegal affiliates are not subject to discipline by the Office of Professional Conduct. However, under Rule 5.3 of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct, supervising or responsible bar licensees are responsible for all work undertaken by paralegal affiliates for or on their behalf.
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