THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION ACCREDITS SOME 20 SCHOOLS ACROSS THE NATION FOR PARALEGAL STUDIES. IN CALIFORNIA, THE STATE UNIVERSITY AT LOS ANGELES, PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY, THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, AT LOS ANGELES, THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST LOS ANGELES ALL PROVIDE PARALEGAL PROGRAMS LEADING EITHER TO BACHELOR'S DEGREES OR CERTIFICATES OF PARAPROFESSIONAL TRAINING. HOWEVER, ALTHOUGH THE CONCEPT OF THE LEGAL ASSISTANT AS AN EMERGING PROFESSION HAS RAPIDLY BECOME ACCEPTED, SEVERAL ASPECTS OF THE PARALEGAL ENTERPRISE REMAIN CONTROVERSIAL. ONE OF THE CONSIDERATIONS IS THE UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW BY LEGAL ASSISTANTS. THERE APPEARS TO BE AGREEMENT THAT THE PARALEGAL MAY ONLY FUNCTION UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A LICENSED ATTORNEY AND THAT THE ATTORNEY MUST EXERCISE MUCH DISCRETION IN DELEGATING TASKS TO THE NONATTORNEY. FURTHER, THE ATTORNEY MUST NOT GIVE UP THE CLIENT-ATTORNEY RELATIONSHIP TO A NONATTORNEY. A WORKABLE SOLUTION IS A CLIENT-ATTORNEY-PARALEGAL MEETING AT WHICH THE ATTORNEY DETERMINES THE LEGAL ISSUES AT HAND AND THEN RELIES ON THE LEGAL ASSISTANT FOR THE NECESSARY DATA GATHERING. THE MOST PRESSING AREA OF LEGAL ETHICS ARISES WHEN THE PARALEGAL AND CLIENT INTERACT OUTSIDE THE IMMEDIATE PURVIEW OF AN ATTORNEY. SHOULD A LEGAL ASSISTANT ERR, A CLIENT HAS NO RECOURSE BUT THROUGH MALPRACTICE SUITS AGAINST THE SUPERVISING ATTORNEY, AND AS YET, PARALEGALS ENJOY NO INSURANCE COVERAGE EXCEPT BY EXTENSION OF AN ATTORNEY'S POLICY. AS A RESULT, IT IS NECESSARY THAT THE ATTORNEY AND LEGAL ASSISTANT ESTABLISH THE KIND OF WORKING RAPPORT WHICH WILL ENABLE THE PARALEGAL TO ASSUME THE ATTORNEY'S ROLE WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF EXACTLY WHAT MAY AND MAY NOT BE DONE IN THE LAW OFFICE. THE BEST WAY TO ACHIEVE THIS IS THROUGH AN INOFFICE TRAINING PROCEDURE AKIN TO THAT AFFORDED NEW ADMITTEES TO THE BAR. (KBL)