25-10-305. Paralegal defined — use of title. (1) As used in 25-10-304 and this section, “paralegal” means a person qualified through education, training, or work experience who is employed or retained to perform, under supervision by a licensed attorney, substantive legal work that:

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Terms Used In Montana Code 25-10-305

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201

(a)requires a substantial knowledge of legal concepts; and

(b)in the absence of the paralegal, would be performed by an attorney.

(2)An individual may use the title “paralegal” if the individual:

(a)has received an associate’s degree in paralegal studies from an accredited institution or a baccalaureate degree in paralegal studies from an accredited college or university;

(b)has received a baccalaureate degree in any discipline from an accredited college or university and has completed not less than 18 semester credits of course work offered by a qualified paralegal studies program;

(c)has received certification by the national association of legal assistants or the national federation of paralegal associations;

(d)has received a high school diploma or its equivalent, has performed not less than 4,800 hours of substantive legal work under the supervision of a licensed attorney documented by the certification of the attorney or attorneys under whom the work was done, and has completed at least 5 hours of approved continuing legal education in the area of legal ethics and professional responsibility; or

(e)has graduated from an accredited law school and has not been disbarred or suspended from the practice of law by any jurisdiction.

(3)A person may not practice as a paralegal except under the supervision of a licensed attorney and is prohibited from engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.