The ban on the unauthorized practice of law is far-reaching and extraordinarily impactful on the accessibility of legal help. By requiring people to get all their legal help from lawyers, no matter how simple, the regulation forces people to choose between “Cadillac counsel” and nothing. For most, it is not a choice at all.

One way to address this lack of choice is to create new categories of legal professionals authorized to provide certain legal services. This approach is similar to recent developments in the medical field, which now has multiple medical professional providers, including physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

Licensing independent paraprofessional advocates could make a significant impact for people with justice needs. The takeaway from decades of independent and rigorous research across multiple jurisdictions is that trained non-lawyer advocates do a very good job in providing advocacy before courts and other tribunals. Nonlawyers have been found to be effective advocates in domestic violence proceedings, in housing courts, and in child welfare proceedings. Consumers are not the only beneficiaries; as a recent study of lay domestic violence advocates noted, judges see benefits as well. In Ontario, which has allowed independent paralegals since 2007 and in which over 10,600 licensed paralegals operate, consumers report high satisfaction with the services received.

In the U.S., lay representatives already represent people in certain administrative agencies and specialized courts, including, for example, unemployment benefits appeals, labor grievance arbitration, some state workers’ compensation tribunals and tax courts, Social Security appeals, the United States Patent Office, and immigration courts. And they generally perform as well as or better than lawyers.

Numerous states are recognizing that, by licensing independent legal paraprofessionals, they can help millions of people unable to pay the high and usually indeterminate fees needed to hire an attorney.