Colorado Springs Licensed Legal Paraprofessional Services

What Is a Licensed Legal Paraprofessional?

If you have a legal issue, you now have more options for help.

In 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court approved new rules allowing qualified paralegals and non-lawyers to apply for limited licensure to practice law in certain family law matters.  On July 20 2024, the first cohort of Licensed Legal Paraprofessionals (LLPs) was admitted to the Colorado bar. This licensure allows LLPs to provide specific legal services and represent clients in certain family law issues. 

Much like nurse practitioners and physician assistants can treat patients within certain limitations and without the need of a physician, LLPs can advise, represent, and assist clients within a certain scope and without the supervision of an attorney. This monumental addition of LLPs to Colorado’s legal landscape fosters the creation of alternative options for legal representation and access to family courts. 

Colorado LLPs have the authority to represent and assist clients in various scenarios, including:

• Contested and Uncontested Divorces with and without children
• Parental responsibility allocations (Establishing or modifying parenting time and decision-making)
• Establishing or modifying child support or maintenance
• Relocations
• Name changes
• Legal separations, Civil Unions, and Declarations of Invalidity of Marriage
• Protection orders
• Adult gender designation changes
• Remedial contempt related to these areas
• And more.

Their services extend to advising clients, preparing and filing court documents, assisting and negotiating in mediation, and, with some limitations, appearing at hearings.

This new legal service tier helps bridge a significant gap in families’ access to justice, particularly for low- and middle-income individuals and households. It also improves the average person’s capacity to address family court needs. 

LLPs differ from attorneys. They don’t have the same general license to practice law as lawyers, but LLPs are seasoned legal professionals offering cost-effective legal representation. Because their qualifications include minimum requirements of time spent working in family law, LLPs already have experience working with clients and helping them navigate the legal system. To indicate their limited licensure, LLPs must clearly identify themselves with the LLP designation in all advertising and court filings.

LLPs are required to adhere to the Colorado Supreme Court Rules of Professional Conduct, and they must participate in continuous legal education to stay apprised of changes in the legal field and practices in family law. LLPs are held to the same professional standards and disciplinary actions as attorneys.

LLP Qualifications

Aspiring LLPs must accumulate considerable experience and legal knowledge in family law in order to qualify to apply for an LLP license. Applicants may qualify through a combination of legal-studies based education and/or minimum requirements of experience in the legal field and family law. All applicants must complete a legal ethics course and a professionalism course.

After candidates satisfy the stringent qualifications, they must then pass a rigorous legal exam regarding ethics and domestic relations law. The exam is much like a truncated version of the bar exam that attorneys must take in order to practice law. LLPs must also pass a character and fitness check, similar to attorneys. After passing the exam and the character and fitness check, LLPs are licensed under the supervision of the Colorado Supreme Court. They share certain licensing similarities with Colorado family law attorneys, albeit with a more restricted practice scope.

Licensed Legal Paraprofessional vs. Paralegal

Paralegals must operate under attorney or LLP supervision, and they cannot independently provide legal advice or representation to clients. Paralegals do not have a license to practice law nor does Colorado set minimum requirements for paralegals since they are supervised by attorneys.

LLPs, however, have a limited license to practice law and therefore can offer legal guidance, draft and file legal documents, and represent clients in court within the scope permitted by the rules governing LLPs. LLPs offer services previously available only to attorneys, but at a more affordable cost.

Services LLPS Can Perform

Licensed Legal Paraprofessionals are authorized to perform a range of services, including:

• Assisting clients at mediation and negotiating settlements on a client’s behalf
• Appearing in court with clients as the rules permit
• Providing legal advice and recommending legal strategies, rights, defenses, and remedies
• Drafting and filing legal documents such as petitions, answers, motions, modifications, disclosures, discovery, and certain orders
• Drafting Joint Trial Management Certificates and preparing exhibits
• Drafting settlement agreements and parenting plans
• Preparing marital spreadsheets
• Calculating child support and maintenance
• Unbundled services

Cost Savings with an LLP

Many individuals facing family law issues refrain from seeking legal services or court intervention due to financial constraints. Engaging a Licensed Legal Paraprofessional allows for more affordable legal services compared to traditional attorneys. LLPs offer flexibility in billing by charging lower hourly rates for tasks that previously required attorneys, and thus included higher costs. 

Every family is unique, and 
Every family law case is different. 

Most family law and divorce attorneys charge for comprehensive case management, with the attorney managing every aspect of a case. While highly contentious or complicated cases may require an attorney’s involvement at each step, many others can be handled primarily by LLPs. The Law Office of Greg Quimby includes attorneys, LLPs, paralegals, and other staff. By including multiple tiers of legal professionals, we can customize your legal team to match your legal needs and pass the cost savings along to the client.

For clients merely needing assistance with specific or one-off legal tasks, we offer unbundled services. Instead of managing the entire case, an LLP can assist a client with a single task such as preparing disclosures, assisting with a Sworn Financial Statement, drafting an agreement, or calculating child support and maintenance. Unbundled services offer budget-friendly options. 

Our Licensed Legal Paraprofessionals

The legal team at the Law Office of Greg Quimby proudly includes two LLP’s from the first cohort admitted to the Colorado bar on June 20, 2024. Susan R. Harris and Sonnie N. Fleming were each excited and inspired by the opportunity to obtain their LLP licensure and offer more options and assistance to their clients. Many clients have worked with Susan and Sonnie as the paralegals on their case with each of them providing clients with advanced and complex service, work product, and support. Our firm is thrilled to expand Sonnie and Susan’s scope of work and their ability to assist clients.

Sonnie and Susan have each worked in family law for over a decade and are ready for the new level of service that they can provide to the community. We encourage you to review their bios to learn more about each of them and the experience they bring to the legal team.  

Law Office of Greg Quimby, P.C. has both attorneys and licensed legal paraprofessionals on staff. For a free consultation with our team, you can contact us online or call our office at (719) 212-4227.