It’s time to professionalize paralegal work to ensure quality legal services by setting standards for those who enter this line of work.
This is according to Rizal 2nd district Rep. Fidel Nograles, who has filed House Bill 5886, a comprehensive measure to define the roles of paralegal workers and guarantee them career and professional development while in the legal profession.
“It is high time that we recognize their work and professionalize their services, as well as ensure that they have adequate training.”
Studies show that there has been a rising demand for paralegal services in many countries including the Philippines, which has a growth rate of 33%.
However, despite the important role they play in the legal profession, paralegals do not get the compensation and recognition they deserve, lamented the solon.
“Paralegals play a very crucial role in the legal profession. They provide support that legal practitioners require in the performance of their various tasks and responsibilities,” said Nograles.
“It is high time that we recognize their work and professionalize their services, as well as take steps to ensure that they have adequate training before they are allowed to perform their services,” said the lawyer, who graduated from the Harvard Law School in 2016.
Under House Bill 5886, individuals who aspire to be paralegals must be Filipino citizens of legal age, shall at least be high school graduates, and must first undergo the Paralegal Training and Education Program (PTEP) that will be jointly developed and created by the Department of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Commission on Higher Education.
The PTEP includes 200 hours of on the job training in government offices tasked with legal practice or functions, or in accredited private law firms.
Upon completion of the PTEP, trainees will undergo the Paralegal Professional Exam, an eight-hour exam that certifies individuals as professional paralegals if they pass the exams.