Paralegals: Books For and About Paralegals Written by or with Bill Statsky

The Legal Paraprofessional as Advocate and Assistant: Roles, Training Concepts, and Materials 1971
by William Statsky, Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School and Philip Lang, California Rural Legal Assistance

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part One: Developing a Program

Introduction to the Legal Paraprofessional

Roles for the Legal Paraprofessional

·         Interviewer

·         Problem Refiner

·         Interpreter

·         Investigator

·         Negotiator

·         Advocate

·         Legal Researcher

·         Librarian

·         Drafter

·         Server

·         Clerk

·         Social Worker

·         Community Teacher

·         Community Organizer

How to Use This Manual: Identification of Needs

Models in the Use of Legal Paraprofessionals

Recruitment and Program Operation

·         Criteria for Selecting Trainees

·         Methods of Recruitment

·         The Selection Process

Ethics and Need

·         Ethics and the Lay Assistant

·         Ethics and the Lay Advocate

The Funding Game

·         Costs Involved

·         Public Funds

·         Private Funding

·         Proposal Writing

Part Two: Training

Defining Your Training Program

·         The Dimensions of Training

·         The Forms of Training

·         The Types of Training

Basic Concepts and Needs of Training

·         Introduction

·         What is Training?

·         Who if the Trainer??

·         Assumptions of legal Paraprofessional Training

·         “Teach Me the Law!”

·         The Basic Needs of a Training Program: Finances, Staff, Time, Facilities, Equipment, Attitude

·         Defining Objectives – Deriving Goals

·         The Training Process and the Need for Structure

Curriculum Design and Training Methods

·         Introduction: Key Questions for Trainers

·         The Learning Process: Major Principles

Training Methods

·         The Balanced Workshop Approach to Training

·         Written Materials, manuals, Checklists

·         Role Play

·         Audiotape and Videotape

·         Guest Speakers

·         Fieldwork Practicum

·         Audio-Visual Materials

·         Evaluation

Supervision and Training

Guide for Evaluation of Legal Paraprofessional Staff

·         Job Assignment

·         Case Handling

·         Administrative Aspects of Practice

·         Community Relations

·         Professional Development

·         Summary

Part Three: Model Training Materials

Understanding Our Legal System

·         Three Levels of Government

·         Three Basic Traits of Human Activity: Make a Law, Enforce a Law, Interpret a Law

·         The Legislative Branch

·         The Executive Branch

·         The Judiciary

Conflicting Rights and interests

·         Private Rights vs. Societal Interest

·         Private Rights vs. Individual Interest

·         Private Rights vs. Private Rights

Interviewing

·         The Art of Interviewing

·         Understanding Human Nature

·         The Relationship Between Interviewer and Interviewee

·         The Interviewer’s Attitudes

·         Purposes of interviewing

·         How to Interview

·         Essential Conditions of Good Interviewing

Bureaucracy

·         What is Bureaucracy?

·         How to Advocate with Bureaucracies

An advocate’s Outline for Fair Hearings

Group Advocacy

Sample Flow Charts, Checklists, and Operationalizing Materials

Appendix

List of Events and Programs in the Country

·         Legal Service Programs

·         Committees

·         Non-College Training Institutions

·         On-the-Job Training Programs

·         Conferences

·         Law Schools

·         Colleges

·         Government Agencies (Non-OEO)

·         Private Attorneys and Firms

·         Miscellaneous

·         Surveys

·         Selective Program/Event Description

Annotated Bibliography on Legal paraprofessionals

·         Training materials

·         Basic Issues in the Use of Legal Praraprofessionals

·         Jobs and careers

·         Legal Paraprofessionals and Lawyers

·         Advocacy and Social Workers

·         Ethics and unauthorized Practice

·         Roles for lay Assistants

·         Roles for Lay Advocates

·         Recruitment, Training, and Placement

·         Training Techniques and Supervision

·         Dealing with Bureaucracy

·         Broad Historical, Sociological and program Perspectives

·         Paraprofessionals in Other Fields