​Non-Lawyer Assistance and Unauthorized Practice of Law

In some states, innovators in the delivery of legal services—or even those who provide services that are only tangentially related to law—have found themselves charged with the unauthorized practice of law (UPL). Although we recognize that consumers must be protected from incompetent and unprofessional operators, we do not regard such protection as being incompatible with competition. Responsive Law fights unreasonable restrictions on who consumers may use to provide services in fields related to law.
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Letter to California Senate Judiciary Chair Tom Umberg Opposing Proposed Amendments Shutting Down State Bar Reform Efforts (June 16, 2022)

Comments on Licensed Paralegal Program Proposal to Oregon State Bar (May 13, 2022) 

Comments on Paraprofessional Working Group Recommendations to the State Bar of California (January 12, 2022)

Comments on Fee Caps to State Bar of California Paraprofessionals Working Group (with Stanford Center on the Legal Profession) (May 14, 2021)

Comments on Sunset of LLLT Program to the Washington Supreme Court (April 29, 2021)

Comments on Regulation of Paraprofessionals to the California State Bar Working Group on Paraprofessionals (February 25, 2021)

​Comments on IDEA Assistance from Lay Advocates to the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law (November 16, 2020)

​Comments on Chicago Bar Association/Chicago Bar Foundation Task Force Report (August 21, 2020)

Comments on Non-Lawyer Ownership and LLLPs, submitted to the Arizona Supreme Court (March 30, 2020)

Comments on Report and Recommendation of the ATILS Task Force (March 11, 2020)

Testimony on Proposed Regulatory Changes By California's Task Force on Access Through Innovation of Legal Services [ATILS] (September 23, 2019)

Amicus Brief in The Florida Bar vs. TIKD  (July 29, 2019)

Amicus Brief in Re William E. Paplauskas, Jr.  (February 1, 2019)

​​Testimony on Proposed Resolution 10A Regarding Online Document Providers, submitted to the American Bar Association (January 22, 2019)
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Testimony on Rhode Island Requiring Lawyers For Real Estate Closing Duties (November 16, 2018)

Testimony on Proposed Revisions to Virginia Supreme Court Unauthorized Practice of Law Rules (July 13, 2018)

Comments on Occupational Licensure in the Legal Profession, Submitted to the Federal Trade Commission Economic Liberty Task Force (October 31, 2017)

Testimony Regarding D.C. City Council Bill B21-8079 Expanding Access to Counsel to Low-Income Tenants in Housing Matters (October 24, 2016)
 
Comments on Issues Paper Concerning Unregulated Legal Service Providers, Submitted to the American Bar Association  (April 28, 2016)
 

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