The difference between paralegals and lawyers
First of all, we need to know the difference between the following nouns.
1, paralegal:
Paralegals are mainly people who help lawyers, such as helping lawyers to do reception work, discussing with lawyers and clients, and helping lawyers to sort out materials. A paralegal can't handle legal affairs independently, but can only assist lawyers to handle some auxiliary work. The main nature of paralegals is assistants. Generally speaking, to be a paralegal, you don't have to have legal work experience, and you don't need to pass the law exam. Relatively speaking, the threshold is low.
2. Trainee lawyer:
A trainee lawyer is different from a paralegal. A trainee lawyer must be a probationary lawyer who has passed the law examination, been interviewed by a law firm and is practicing in a law firm. A trainee lawyer is the only way to become a lawyer. As a trainee lawyer, you can't handle cases independently in the name of a lawyer, but you can only assist practicing lawyers in handling cases. Trainee lawyers can choose to be paralegals, but paralegals are not qualified to be interns.
3, practicing lawyers:
A practicing lawyer refers to a lawyer who has passed the legal examination and obtained formal practice qualification through the internship and interview of the Bar Association. In China, all practicing lawyers can inquire through the lawyer publicity system, and the relevant information of practicing lawyers can be found by inquiring the lawyer's name and region, and the parties can consult when hiring lawyers.
How to distinguish between practicing lawyers and paralegals in life?
The threshold for paralegals is not high. Usually, law books meet the recruitment requirements and do not require passing the law examination. Some law firms are also allowed to own illegal books. There are also many law students who have failed the law exam and will choose to be paralegals to accumulate practical experience and prepare for the law exam. After passing the legal examination, I applied to become a trainee lawyer and a practicing lawyer through the examination during the internship period.
When consulting a case in life, the way to know whether the other party is a practicing lawyer is very simple, as long as it is queried in the lawyer publicity system. You can also directly ask the other party to show the lawyer's practice certificate for confirmation. In addition, it should be noted that according to the laws of our country, under normal circumstances, lawyers are not allowed to start a company or act as legal representatives during their practice.
Can paralegals call themselves "lawyers"
A paralegal is not a lawyer, but the management department will often deal with it according to whether the title of "lawyer" is illegally used. If the client takes the initiative to call him a "lawyer", it is usually just a polite title, and it is difficult to define that he has violated the rules. However, it is illegal for paralegals to call themselves lawyers, provide business cards with the words "lawyer" printed on them, or publicize and teach as lawyers. If you encounter such a situation, you can complain to the local judicial bureau or the bar association.
Punishment of paralegals who call themselves "lawyers"
According to Article 55 of China's Lawyers Law, if a person who has not obtained a lawyer's practice certificate engages in legal services in the name of a lawyer, the judicial administrative department of the local people's government at or above the county level shall order him to stop his illegal practice, confiscate his illegal income and impose a fine of not less than one time but not more than five times his illegal income.
The law of temperature says:
At present, many lawyers who have not obtained the lawyer qualification certificate declare their business as "lawyers". In fact, this kind of behavior violates the lawyer law. Even a "trainee lawyer" is not allowed to engage in legal activities as a "lawyer" alone during the internship period, and the words "trainee lawyer" must be marked. Therefore, when you want to entrust a lawyer to handle legal business, if you have any questions about the identity of the "lawyer" you are consulting, you only need to inquire on the national lawyer's practice certificate inquiry platform or ask him to show his lawyer's practice certificate for confirmation.