When you hire a divorce lawyer, you aren’t usually hiring one person, you’re hiring a team. That’s by design, and it’s not meant to be “shortcut” for your lawyer to avoid working on your case himself or avoiding conversations with you.
A competent family law attorney relies on skilled paralegals and legal assistants to help manage the many moving parts that make up a divorce or custody case.
Clients often misunderstand this. They assume that if their lawyer isn’t the one sending every email or collecting every document, something’s wrong. That may be true in some cases; lawyers who delegate everything to their staff and who use them to avoid client calls and questions are lawyers to avoid.
But utilized effectively, the lawyer’s staff members aren’t a barrier between you and your lawyer they are the connection between you and your lawyer that helps keep your case organized and efficiently moving forward.
Who Paralegals and Legal Assistants Are, and What They Actually Do
Paralegals and legal assistants work under the direct supervision of the lawyer who employs them. They handle much of the day-to-day work that keeps your case functioning:
- drafting routine filings, disclosures, and correspondence.
- managing deadlines and court filings.
- organizing discovery, exhibits, and evidence.
- coordinating communication between you, your lawyer, the court, and opposing counsel.
A capable paralegal or legal assistant knows where everything is in the client file and keeps tabs on when everything is due and what needs to happen next. In these ways they help your lawyer execute your legal strategy.
What Paralegals and Legal Assistants Are Not
Here’s where some clients get tripped up. Paralegals and legal assistants are not lawyers.
They can’t give you legal advice, interpret court orders, predict outcomes, or make strategy calls. Under the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct — specifically Rules 5.3 and 5.5 — lawyers are required to supervise their nonlawyer staff and ensure they don’t engage in the unauthorized practice of law.
That means a paralegal can explain what a document says, but not what it means for you legally. They can ask you for documents and information, but they can’t tell you which legal arguments to make. They can relay messages from your attorney, but they can’t substitute for your attorney’s judgment.
If you ever feel uncertain about something a paralegal or assistant says, it’s perfectly appropriate to confirm it with your lawyer. A good paralegal, legal assistant, and lawyer will never take offense at that.
Why Lawyers Depend on Their Staff, and Why That’s a Good Thing
Family law is detail-heavy, deadline-driven work. If your lawyer spent every hour chasing down documents or formatting pleadings, he’d have little time left for the high-level thinking your case deserves.
That’s why good lawyers delegate as needed, and to capable assistants. That kind of delegation allows the lawyer to focus on the legal arguments, negotiation, and courtroom advocacy that contribute to the success of your case, while trained staff help with the execution.
Handled well, this relationship saves you time, money, and hassle. When staff members gather facts, drafts standard documents, and coordinates logistics, they keep the lawyer free to focus on the parts of your case that truly require legal skill and judgment.
The Most Common Misunderstanding: “I Only Want to Talk to My Lawyer”
It’s understandable. You’re paying for a lawyer, so you expect to hear from the lawyer. But when a client insists on going through the lawyer for every small request or document exchange, that insistence often needlessly slows the client’s case and increases the client’s bill.
If your lawyer’s staff asks you for something (whether it be documents, an answer to a question, or help filling out forms with information only you know), it’s not busy work, it’s part of keeping your case moving efficiently and cost-effectively.
Use of paralegal or legal assistant isn’t brushing you off. If your lawyer had to personally call every client to ask for a bank statement or a copy of a W-2, the pace of your case would slow, and the cost of representation would double overnight. Paralegals and legal assistants help ensure your case stays organized and your lawyer stays focused on the legal heavy lifting.
Remember: paralegals and legal assistants are your allies. They are the connective tissue that keeps your legal team functioning.
Paralegals and legal assistants aren’t just message-takers. They’re often the ones working long hours making sure your filings go out on time, your exhibits are ready for hearing, and your deadlines aren’t missed. They watch for errors, nudge the lawyer when something needs attention, and smooth over communication gaps before they become problems.
When you respond promptly to the staff’s requests, you’re helping your lawyer help you. When you don’t, you’re paying your lawyer to chase paperwork.
The fastest way to waste your own legal fees is to ignore the paralegal’s calls and emails.
Respect the Staff
Treat them with courtesy and respect. Period.
This isn’t just decent, it’s wise. A paralegal who feels appreciated will go the extra mile for you. Likewise, while being rude, dismissive, or unresponsive hurts the paralegal/assistant’s feelings, it hurts your case too. It strains communication, delays progress and makes the team less eager to go to bat for you when things get tense.
Mistreat a legal assistant or paralegal or other staff member and you could find your lawyer firing you as a client.
Respecting your lawyer’s staff isn’t optional; it’s part of being a good client. Cooperation is what allows your lawyer to do their best work for you.
Behind the Curtain: Why Clients Often Misunderstand Paralegals
Most people don’t understand how a law office really works. They imagine their lawyer drafting every motion by hand, like a scene from a legal drama. In reality, law is a team sport.
Every well-run law firm divides tasks according to expertise: lawyers analyze, strategize, and advocate; paralegals execute and organize. Both roles are indispensable.
Clients sometimes think that talking to a paralegal instead of a lawyer means they’re being short-changed or disrespected. In truth, it means they’re getting better service. A responsive paralegal keeps you updated, manages your paperwork, and ensures your lawyer is free to focus on winning your case, not on retyping addresses or tracking down PDFs.
When a client understands and respects that division of labor, the entire relationship runs smoother and costs less.
How to Work Effectively With Your Lawyer’s Staff
- Respond promptly to requests for documents or information. Delays on your end ripple through the whole case.
- Ask clear questions. If you’re not sure whether something is procedural or legal, say so. The staff will either promptly answer or direct you to the lawyer.
- Be polite and professional. Courtesy goes a long way; the staff remembers which clients make their lives harder and which make teamwork easy.
- Keep them informed. If your contact information, schedule, or financial situation changes, tell the staff. They keep your file accurate and your lawyer current.
- Trust the process. Unless you have an absentee lawyer (and they do exist—if your lawyer is one, fire him and get a better lawyer), if the paralegal is handling something, it’s because your lawyer has delegated it intentionally, not because they’ve checked out.
- If There’s a Problem. Of course, not every paralegal or assistant gets it right. If a staff member is rude, dismissive, or seems out of his/her depth, don’t stew about it or lash out, handle it responsibly and productively. Let your lawyer know privately, calmly, and with specifics: what was said or done, when it happened, and how it affected your confidence or your case. A good lawyer will take that seriously and address it internally. The goal isn’t to “get someone in trouble,” it’s to keep your working relationship functional and respectful. Bringing the issue to the lawyer directly and factually is the quickest and most effective way to fix the problem.
Paralegals and legal assistants are a critical part of your lawyer’s ability to represent you well
Paralegals and legal assistants aren’t your lawyer, and they’re not pretending to be. But they are critical to your lawyer’s ability to represent you successfully. When the paralegal or legal assistant comes to you for your input, they’re not bothering you, they’re keeping your case moving. When you cooperate with staff, you save time, money, and frustration.
A good paralegal is the quiet professional who makes sure the lawyer you hired can do what you hired him to do: think clearly, act strategically, and protect your interests. Treat staff accordingly. They’re not your lawyer, but they are a lifeline.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277