Legal document assistant

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
<p>Many LDAs view their professional history as descending directly from that of the <a href="/facts/Scribe/E6Kq8CJG">scribe</a> or <a href="/facts/Scrivener/gvRxtFfT">scrivener</a>. The terms "legal scrivener" and "independent <a href="/facts/Paralegal/nDFBScLC">paralegal</a>" were commonly used in the US from the late 1970s until 1994. In that year, the <a href="/facts/Bankruptcy_Reform_Act/oDINtbyy">Bankruptcy Reform Act</a> was signed into law by President <a href="/facts/Bill_Clinton/x5mwYkVh">Bill Clinton</a>. Among other provisions, it banned the use of the word "legal" in any form, to describe the services provided by non-attorney document preparers, and also specifically created the term "<a href="/facts/Bankruptcy_in_the_United_States/112GsaGz">bankruptcy petition</a> preparer." This forced many US LDAs who assisted with <a href="/facts/Bankruptcies/EAztPnMf">bankruptcies</a> to search for new terms to describe their profession.
</p><p>Although <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a> became the first state to formally regulate LDAs, the first licensing proposal was the Oregon Scrivener's Act, introduced in the <a href="/facts/Oregon/4Uq446Ko">Oregon</a> legislature in 1985. In 2003, <a href="/facts/Arizona/6ayM3swJ">Arizona</a> began certifying individuals and businesses who prepare documents through its "Legal Document Preparer Program".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> as <i>certified legal document preparers</i> (CLDP).
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<h2 id="california">California</h2>
<p>While many LDAs have paralegal education and experience, in California they are not the same as paralegals. Under California law, a <a href="/facts/Paralegal/nDFBScLC">paralegal</a> is prohibited from providing services directly to the consumer. Paralegals may only be employed by an attorney, law firm, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity; and work under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney within the scope of that employment.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
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<h2 id="louisiana">Louisiana</h2>
<p>Certain types of legal documents can be drafted by a <a href="/facts/Notary_public/8awyPcXu">notary public</a> in the State of Louisiana. Louisiana notaries public prepare and draft legal documents of a noncontentious nature (i.e. not for court cases) such as wills, trusts, marriage contracts, articles of incorporation, estate inventories, mortgages, real estate sales contracts, powers of attorney, etc. Aside from drafting, they are also authorized to make inventories, property descriptions, take company minutes, and appraise and <a href="/facts/Conveyancing/l4mm6IdT">convey</a> real estate. Louisiana, along with Puerto Rico, have this exception because prior to inclusion in the United States, both were (and continue to be) under the <a href="/facts/Civil_law_(system)/R878oQ6V">civil law</a> <a href="/facts/Legal_system/mc4tYzf0">legal system</a>. Under civil law, <a href="/facts/Civil_law_notary/EH4N5AJ7">notaries</a> are lawyers, which is why in Louisiana notaries are appointed for life and used to be licensed before the advent of practice of law statutes in the 1930s. Louisiana notaries public are not required to be attorneys or otherwise trained in law; however, they do have to pass an extensive exam on notarial law (i.e., the areas of law a notary can draft for - property law, estate law, family law, etc.), they must sign and witness the signing of the documents they draft (<a href="/facts/Act_(document)/SphMeQ2D">notarial acts</a>), and register and file those documents with the local court.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
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<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"What's in a Name?". SCRIBE. December 7, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2023. <a href="http://legaldocumentassistant.blogspot.com/2007/12/whats-in-name.html" target="_blank">http://legaldocumentassistant.blogspot.com/2007/12/whats-in-name.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"Legal Document Preparers". Arizona Supreme Court. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015. Effective July 1, 2003, all individuals and businesses preparing legal documents without the supervision of an attorney in good standing with the State Bar of Arizona, must be certified pursuant to Rule 31, and Arizona Codes of Judicial Administration § 7-208 and § 7-201. Legal Document Preparer Program certifies non-attorney legal document preparers in Arizona who provide document preparation assistance and services to individuals and entities not represented by an attorney.  Legal document preparers may provide general legal information but may not give legal advice. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151003095402/https://www.azcourts.gov/cld/Legal-Document-Preparers" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20151003095402/https://www.azcourts.gov/cld/Legal-Document-Preparers</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>California Business and Professions Code, Sections 6450-6456 Archived 2009-05-03 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=06001-07000&file=6450-6456" target="_blank">http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&group=06001-07000&file=6450-6456</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>American Bar Association Standing Committee on Paralegals <a href="http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/paralegals/def98.html" target="_blank">http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/paralegals/def98.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"Louisiana Notary Association". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2010. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110727041123/http://www.lna.org/explore.cfm/home/100001?s=1001265" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110727041123/http://www.lna.org/explore.cfm/home/100001?s=1001265</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Legal document assistant open-in-new

Legal document assistant