# Can Law Students Charge for Legal Services **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900 "2016-10-28T02:37:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/1 "2016-10-28T02:37:54Z")
Or…must someone be admitted to their local bar association before they can charge for legal services they provide? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/2 "2016-10-28T02:48:33Z")
They must have a practising license in their jurisdiction before they hold themselves out as an attorney and charge for attorney services they provide. I don’t know of anywhere where that is not the case. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/3 "2016-10-28T02:51:25Z")
I’ve seen one get a sharp reprimand and threat of legal action from a judge for even the suspicion of helping someone prepare their case. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/4 "2016-10-28T02:51:29Z")
On the other hand though, a law stuident can be paid a salary for (legalish/paralegal) services they perform for another company, so long as they don’t profess to be qualified/licensed lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/5 "2016-10-28T02:52:53Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > They must have a practising license in their jurisdiction before they hold themselves out as an attorney and charge for attorney services they provide. I don’t know of anywhere where that is not the case. The reason I ask…I am at my local Starbucks and a guy who is a wannabe lawyer (hasnt been to law school or passed the bar) said that law students can charge for some legal services. I have not heard of this (in California). ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/6 "2016-10-28T02:55:33Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I’ve seen one get a sharp reprimand and threat of legal action from a judge for even the suspicion of helping someone prepare their case. > [@Isamu](#): > > On the other hand though, a law stuident can be paid a salary for (legalish/paralegal) services they perform for another company, so long as they don’t profess to be qualified/licensed lawyers. As I understand the above, a law student can basically work under the supervision of a licensed lawyer but cant offer services on their own. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/7 "2016-10-28T03:49:04Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > As I understand the above, a law student can basically work under the supervision of a licensed lawyer but cant offer services on their own. I think that is correct. In some circumstances they can also do unpaid volunteer work, for example like I did in my final year of law school, working at legal aid. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/8 "2016-10-28T06:01:06Z")
California seems to have an official procedure for becoming a Certified Student, which allows a law student to work under the supervision of a practicing attorney. Here’s the [California Rules of Court](http://www.courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index.cfm?title=nine&linkid=rule9_42) on the issue. The certification comes from the State Bar of California, and their rules for the Practical Training of Law students can be found [here](http://admissions.calbar.ca.gov/Education/LegalEducation/PracticalTrainingofLawStudentsProgram.aspx). According to the Court Rules, a Certified Student can do the following: > [@](#): > > (1) Negotiate for and on behalf of the client subject to final approval thereof by the supervising attorney or give legal advice to the client, provided that the certified law student: > > (A) Obtains the approval of the supervising attorney to engage in the activities; > > (B) Obtains the approval of the supervising attorney regarding the legal advice to be given or plan of negotiation to be undertaken by the certified law student; and > > (C) Performs the activities under the general supervision of the supervising attorney; > > (2) Appear on behalf of the client in depositions, provided that the certified law student: > > (A) Obtains the approval of the supervising attorney to engage in the activity; > > (B) Performs the activity under the direct and immediate supervision and in the personal presence of the supervising attorney (or, exclusively in the case of government agencies, any deputy, assistant, or other staff attorney authorized and designated by the supervising attorney); and > > (C) Obtains a signed consent form from the client on whose behalf the certified law student acts (or, exclusively in the case of government agencies, from the chief counsel or prosecuting attorney) approving the performance of such acts by such certified law student or generally by any certified law student; > > (3) Appear on behalf of the client in any public trial, hearing, arbitration, or proceeding, or before any arbitrator, court, public agency, referee, magistrate, commissioner, or hearing officer, to the extent approved by such arbitrator, court, public agency, referee, magistrate, commissioner, or hearing officer, provided that the certified law student: > > (A) Obtains the approval of the supervising attorney to engage in the activity; > > (B) Performs the activity under the direct and immediate supervision and in the personal presence of the supervising attorney (or, exclusively in the case of government agencies, any deputy, assistant, or other staff attorney authorized and designated by the supervising attorney); > > (C) Obtains a signed consent form from the client on whose behalf the certified law student acts (or, exclusively in the case of government agencies, from the chief counsel or prosecuting attorney) approving the performance of such acts by such certified law student or generally by any certified law student; and > > (D) As a condition to such appearance, either presents a copy of the consent form to the arbitrator, court, public agency, referee, magistrate, commissioner, or hearing officer, or files a copy of the consent form in the court case file; and > > (4) Appear on behalf of a government agency in the prosecution of criminal actions classified as infractions or other such minor criminal offenses with a maximum penalty or a fine equal to the maximum fine for infractions in California, including any public trial: > > (A) Subject to approval by the court, commissioner, referee, hearing officer, or magistrate presiding at such public trial; and > > (B) Without the personal appearance of the supervising attorney or any deputy, assistant, or other staff attorney authorized and designated by the supervising attorney, but only if the supervising attorney or the designated attorney has approved in writing the performance of such acts by the certified law student and is immediately available to attend the proceeding. Nothing in there about whether the law student can be paid for this work, but the absence of any explicit prohibition would, i assume, mean that it’s probably OK for the supervising attorney to pay the student for the work performed. The nature of legal practice probably means that the client would pay the supervising attorney or the firm for services rendered. Because the student has to work under supervision, the rules would seem to preclude the student from taking any payment for legal services directly from a client. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/9 "2016-10-28T06:15:08Z")
The answer is for once, not jurisdiction dependent. The California rules basically state what is the practice everywhere. A Law Student is not only not permitted to give legal advice for consideration, this can also lead to action in many places; since a Law Student will be more believable to the average individual. Law Students can (and regularly do) give legal advice under supervision of a qualified practitioner (either their Law Professor, or another qualified lawyer). When that is done, the law student is operating under the supervision of (and under the insurance of) the supervisor. Not just any lawyer can permit this however, many jurisdictions have rules as to who can and the qualifications needed (in mine you have to be 7 years call and take out special insurance). Moreover, usually there is a prohibition against receiving of monies directly, usually the supervising lawyer will give the student a small sum (called a “stipend”, “allowance” “honourarium” or whatnot). This BTW does not include people undergoing professional training, pupilage or articles. under a lawyer, they are typically graduates already and there the work is part of training. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/10 "2016-10-28T13:55:39Z")
I received assistance from 2 law students when I faced foreclosure. But there were some pretty strong restrictions. First, I had to sign a contract stating that I understood they were students acting under the supervision of a licensed attorney, and their advice could not be construed as “legal advice”. 2nd, they actually WERE under the close supervision of one of their professors, who sat in every meeting and interrupted with corrections or suggestions. For them the whole experience was a teaching exercise. It was annoying at times but it worked and they helped me save my home. One other thing – none of them appeared in court with me or took any part in communications with the court or the other party. They simply helped me prepare for those occasions. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/11 "2016-10-28T14:42:39Z")
Overall the CA restrictions on certified law students sound very similar to the restrictions on paralegals. Broadly speaking they can do many lawyer-like activities, as long as there’s a real licensed lawyer supervising them adequately. Where the required closeness of supervision is tied to the specifics of the work being done. Sometimes it’s monitoring face to face interactions, other times it’s just reviewing written work before it’s released to the client. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-law-students-charge-for-legal-services/769900/12 "2016-10-28T20:19:56Z")
> [@susan](#): > > I’ve seen one get a sharp reprimand and threat of legal action from a judge for even the suspicion of helping someone prepare their case. Even helping a friend for free can be an issue, I imagine. the problem is that a law student may be seen as knowing something when there is no guarantee their advice is any better than the internet (probably is, but you never know). This could mislead a client into not getting the correct advice and screwing up their case (or failing to bring up some important point). If they shouldn’t do it for free, thy sure as heck shouldn’t do it for pay. So previous posts are very import - you don’t want any half-a-lawyer types practicing except under the supervision of a real lawyer. After all, if your friend, the mechanic in training, monkeys with your car, all he’s likely to do worst case is void the warranty and cost you a car. Court cases can have much deeper repercussions.