California Association of Legal Document Assistants (CALDA) Weighs in on Elkins Family Task Force Draft Recommendations
The California Association of Legal Document Assistants (CALDA), a non-profit corporation dedicated to promoting the Legal Document Assistant profession in its continued efforts to help the self-represented consumer, has submitted written comments and public testimony in response to the Elkins Family Law Task Force “Draft Recommendations” released last October. The task force is scheduled to present final recommendations at the April 23 meeting of the California Judicial Council.
Hayward, CA, April 12, 2010 --(PR.com)-- The California Association of Legal Document Assistants (CALDA), a non-profit corporation dedicated to promoting the Legal Document Assistant profession in its continued efforts to help the self-represented consumer, has submitted written comments and public testimony in response to the Elkins Family Law Task Force “Draft Recommendations” released last October.
The “Draft Recommendations” aims to increase access to justice for family law litigants, ensure fairness and due process, and provide for more effective and consistent family law rules, policies, and procedures. The task force is scheduled to present final recommendations at the April 23 meeting of the California Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the California courts, the largest court system in the nation.
CALDA also offered additional suggestions to the Task Force, such as including CALDA in pilot projects created as a result of the “Draft Recommendations” and granting California’s courts permission to refer to the services of Legal Document Assistants and allow CALDA brochures in the courthouse.
If the task force accepts CALDA’s recommendations, it will be the first time that Legal Document Assistants will be included in such proceedings.
“We applaud the Elkins Family Task Force for its dedicated efforts to improve service to the public, especially the simplification of various family law procedures and the creation of writing aids such as declaration templates,” said Marcel Neumann, president of CALDA who attended a review meeting with the task force on February 2, and also participated at the task force’s public comments hearings held in San Francisco and Los Angeles last October.
“By including information about Legal Document Assistants, the task force will further assist the self-help litigant and also create an environment where the parties will feel valued and heard and create more continuity within the courts.”
The Task Force
The task force was appointed in May 2008 in response to a California Supreme Court opinion, Elkins v. Superior Court, 41 Cal.4th 1337, filed August 6, 2007. The ruling recommended that the Judicial Council establish a task force to study and propose measures to assist trial courts in achieving efficiency and fairness in marital dissolution proceedings and to ensure access to justice for litigants, many of whom are self-represented.
The court said that “special care might be taken to accommodate self- represented litigants” and suggested that “rules could be written in a manner easy for laypersons to follow, be economical to comply with, and ensure that a litigant be afforded a satisfactory opportunity to present his or her case to the court.”
During its public meetings and in its surveys, the task force heard from many family court participants who were frustrated with the family law system and who believed that they were not given an opportunity to fully present their cases to judicial officers. The task force also heard from judges, attorneys, and court personnel who expressed frustration with the lack of adequate resources devoted to family law.
To read CALDA’s Comments specific to the Task Force draft report, visit their website at www.calda.org
About Legal Document Assistants
Legal Document Assistants were once commonly known as Independent Paralegals. An LDA is an experienced professional who is authorized to prepare legal documents for a client. LDAs are not attorneys and they can only provide self-help services at their client's specific directions. In other words, an LDA is there to assist the "self-litigant" handle their own legal matters. Unlike Paralegals who must work directly for an attorney, LDA’s can work with or without an attorney and are registered and bonded legal professionals who are authorized to prepare legal documents and provide self-help services to the general public.
About CALDA (www.calda.org)
The California Association of Legal Document Assistants is a non-profit 501(c)6 organization dedicated to promoting high standards of ethical and professional conduct of the Legal Document Assistant profession through educational activities and networking among members and the legal community in its continued efforts to help the self-represented consumer.
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The “Draft Recommendations” aims to increase access to justice for family law litigants, ensure fairness and due process, and provide for more effective and consistent family law rules, policies, and procedures. The task force is scheduled to present final recommendations at the April 23 meeting of the California Judicial Council, the policymaking body of the California courts, the largest court system in the nation.
CALDA also offered additional suggestions to the Task Force, such as including CALDA in pilot projects created as a result of the “Draft Recommendations” and granting California’s courts permission to refer to the services of Legal Document Assistants and allow CALDA brochures in the courthouse.
If the task force accepts CALDA’s recommendations, it will be the first time that Legal Document Assistants will be included in such proceedings.
“We applaud the Elkins Family Task Force for its dedicated efforts to improve service to the public, especially the simplification of various family law procedures and the creation of writing aids such as declaration templates,” said Marcel Neumann, president of CALDA who attended a review meeting with the task force on February 2, and also participated at the task force’s public comments hearings held in San Francisco and Los Angeles last October.
“By including information about Legal Document Assistants, the task force will further assist the self-help litigant and also create an environment where the parties will feel valued and heard and create more continuity within the courts.”
The Task Force
The task force was appointed in May 2008 in response to a California Supreme Court opinion, Elkins v. Superior Court, 41 Cal.4th 1337, filed August 6, 2007. The ruling recommended that the Judicial Council establish a task force to study and propose measures to assist trial courts in achieving efficiency and fairness in marital dissolution proceedings and to ensure access to justice for litigants, many of whom are self-represented.
The court said that “special care might be taken to accommodate self- represented litigants” and suggested that “rules could be written in a manner easy for laypersons to follow, be economical to comply with, and ensure that a litigant be afforded a satisfactory opportunity to present his or her case to the court.”
During its public meetings and in its surveys, the task force heard from many family court participants who were frustrated with the family law system and who believed that they were not given an opportunity to fully present their cases to judicial officers. The task force also heard from judges, attorneys, and court personnel who expressed frustration with the lack of adequate resources devoted to family law.
To read CALDA’s Comments specific to the Task Force draft report, visit their website at www.calda.org
About Legal Document Assistants
Legal Document Assistants were once commonly known as Independent Paralegals. An LDA is an experienced professional who is authorized to prepare legal documents for a client. LDAs are not attorneys and they can only provide self-help services at their client's specific directions. In other words, an LDA is there to assist the "self-litigant" handle their own legal matters. Unlike Paralegals who must work directly for an attorney, LDA’s can work with or without an attorney and are registered and bonded legal professionals who are authorized to prepare legal documents and provide self-help services to the general public.
About CALDA (www.calda.org)
The California Association of Legal Document Assistants is a non-profit 501(c)6 organization dedicated to promoting high standards of ethical and professional conduct of the Legal Document Assistant profession through educational activities and networking among members and the legal community in its continued efforts to help the self-represented consumer.
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Contact
California Association of Legal Document Assistants
Corin Ramos, Walson PR & Communications
714-970-2268
www.calda.org
info@calda.org
Corin Ramos, Walson PR & Communications
714-970-2268
www.calda.org
info@calda.org
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