Of immediate concern in any discussion of the professionalization of paralegals are such issues as the protection of the paralegal-client relationship, the legal authorization of paralegal practice, the extent of legal liability and financial accountability for paralegal activity, and most important, the continued development of the role of the paralegal in the delivery of legal services. Of longer range concern are issues such as the boundaries of ethical conduct for paralegals, the development and recognition of adequate training programs, and the clarification of the relationship between paralegals and the legal profession and paralegals and the public. It is evident, based on the experiences of the health professions and the merging legal paraprofessions in Canada and the United States, that well-planned system of flexible controls needed expand the legal services delivery mechanisms and still protect the public from unqualified or unscrupulous persons. The overall priority in the professionalization of paralegals should be meeting the community's need for quality legal services at a reasonable cost rather than to increase a 'profession's' monopoly of the delivery system. Footnotes are provided. (Author abstract modified)