Choosing your Legal Document Assistant
When it comes to fees, most consumers are looking to shop and find the lowest fees for service. If you choose not to retain a law firm to prepare your documents, what is the next best step? Hiring the same individuals that law firms seek out for employment. Most law firms hire paralegals with a minimum 5 years experience, a Bachelors degree and an ABA approved Paralegal Certificate.

Education is key in the legal profession; the law in our state requires continuing legal education (CLE), to better educate legal professionals with the ever-increasing changes in the law.

You may find lower prices elsewhere, but often these are individuals with no overhead as the business is run from questionable locations, they have no formal education, and have no bond to protect you in the event there is an unfixable error on your documents.

Take these steps when inquiring about a Legal Document Assistant:
1. Are they a registered legal document assistant, and if so, is their
registration current?
2. Are they bonded?
3. Are they a paralegal? If so which law firm supervises their work?
4. Is their CLE up to date?
5. What is their experience how many years have they worked in a
law firm? Were they working in the capacity of a secretary the
majority of the time?
6. Where did they receive their formal education?
7. Did their paralegal certificate come from an ABA school?

Remember the basic rule of thumb, “you get what you pay for” and if you are unwilling to pay a licensed attorney, than hire the next best. If you compromise on price, you may be compromising on quality, something that may affect you years down the road.