Many Coloradans can't afford legal help in child custody and divorce matters.
That's why the Colorado Supreme Court recently approved the Licensed Legal Paraprofessional program, which is intended to make access to legal help more affordable for people with family law issues.
Licensed legal paraprofessionals can practice in certain family law matters, such as divorce, custody, and protection orders. They're not permitted to examine witnesses in court or complete other more complex legal work.
Paralegals from across the state took the first LLP exam on April 30. Those who passed the test were sworn in as LLPs June 20.
Since then, new LLPs, like Melissa Simonton, have been trying to get the word out about their services. Simonton open a business called 5280 Licensed Legal Paraprofessional soon after receiving her LLP license.
To find a list of Licensed Legal Paraprofessionals in Colorado, click here.
"Public awareness is really our biggest obstacle," says Simonton. "Many, many of us have extensive family law experience, and so we are able to provide legal services to clients at a significant lesser cost than attorneys."
More than 70% of parties in Colorado's family law system were unrepresented in 2022.
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Coloradans will soon have access to more affordable family law support
Toni-Anne Nunez, the Director of Access to Justice for the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations, said many unrepresented parties are people of color.
"This is also a big underrepresented issue and diversity issue," says Nunez. "Twenty-two percent of our Colorado population is Latino, yet 13% of them are in poverty. Four-point-sevent percent of our population is African-American, and yet 17.8% of them are in poverty. So really, it's these underrepresented groups in particular that are needing our help."
In some cases, LLPs can cost about half the price of what an attorney would cost per hour.
Some family lawyers believe LLPs could reduce their clientele. Nunez, however, previously told Denver7 that LLPs would be a supplement to the practice.
"They're not looking to take any business from anyone," said Nunez. "They're looking to help people that generally probably wouldn't have gone and hired an attorney in the first place."
Nunez said the Colorado Bar Association is starting to create a committee for LLPs to allow for more networking opportunities and chances to advocate for themselves, as well as increase access to resources to help them succeed.
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While there aren't many job posting for LLPs yet, a legal assistance organization for people with low incomes offered a job to new LLP Meghan Dill-Meinzer.
"Metro Volunteer Lawyers are really working with LLPs to help to advocate for individuals who would otherwise not have access to these resources," she says.
As Simonton continues to try to spread the word about her LLP business, she says awareness is the only thing standing between LLPs and the public.
"When we Google our name 'LLP,' it's not coming up yet," she said. "I feel like it's really just getting it [awareness of LLPs] out to the public, and letting them know we're here to help."
Nunez says another group of LLP candidates will take their exam in November.
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