CONGRATULATIONS!! The Board of Directors congratulates the following
Full members who have been approved as Delaware Certified Paralegals Ahtes, Laura (12/1/05)
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On May 12, 2005, the Board of Directors approved the Delaware Certified Paralegal (“DCP”) Program in an effort to continue to promote a high level of education and professionalism and to encourage continuing legal education for Delaware paralegals. Paralegals seeking the DCP certification must be Full members of DPA and meet certain education and work experience requirements to submit an application. This is a voluntary certification program. The DCP Committee will examine the qualifications of each applicant for certification and determine whether the applicant meets the necessary requirements. Approved applicants will be issued a certificate indicating certification by the DPA. The paralegal can then use the designation “Delaware Certified Paralegal” or “DCP.” The following DPA members have been appointed by the Board of Directors
to the DCP Committee for the 2007-2008 term: Paralegals who are approved for DCP certification must follow DPA’s Code of Ethics and renew their certification status every two years. The renewal process consists of completing at least eight hours of continuing legal education with at least one of the eight hours covering ethics. DCP CLE credits will be offered at various DPA monthly lecture luncheons, lunch & learns and other CLE events during the year. In addition, there are many other avenues for DCPs to pursue to obtain applicable CLE credit (see Section VI of DCP program below and CLE application for further information). The DCP program consists of and incorporates the following standards and procedures: I. Educational and Experience Criteria An applicant seeking DPA certification must be a Full member in good standing of the DPA and meet one of the following five criteria:
II. Submission of Application and Transcript Upon meeting the above criteria, a candidate making application for certification shall submit only the following items to the DPA Certification Committee (the “Committee”):
III. Issuance of Certification and Credential Following submission of a verified application, payment of the processing fee and review and approval by the Committee, a certificate will be issued to the applicant indicating certification by the DPA based on the educational and experience criteria set forth in Section I above. Upon such certification, the applicant will be permitted to use the credential Delaware Certified Paralegal (“DCP”). IV. Code of Ethics Every DCP will be bound by DPA’s “Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Delaware Paralegals” which is attached hereto. Any DCP who violates any provision of the Code of Ethics or who is convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude or engages in the unauthorized practice of law as determined by the Committee which is charged with reviewing these types of matters will have his/her credential revoked. A DCP may appeal the Committee’s revocation decision upon written request to the DPA Board of Directors (the “Board”) within 30 days of receipt of the decision. V. Certification Committee The Committee will consist of five Full DPA members appointed on a yearly basis by the Board at the beginning of each fiscal year. The Committee Chair will be appointed by the Board and will report to the Vice President or other designated Director as determined by the Board. The Vice President will advise the Committee as needed and will attend Committee meetings when necessary but will not have voting privileges on the Committee. Generally, Board members cannot be members of the Committee. However, should circumstances dictate, the Board has the discretion to appoint a Board member to the Committee. Committee members shall not receive compensation for their services. The Committee will examine the qualifications of each applicant for certification and will determine within 30 days whether the applicant meets the requirements as set forth above. If any applicant is denied certification by the Committee, the applicant may file an appeal to the Board within 30 days of receipt of the denial. The Board shall make the final determination on the acceptance or denial of DCP certification. VI. Maintenance and Renewal of Certification – Continuing Legal Education Requirement In order to maintain certification, a DCP shall renew his/her certification status every two years from the initial date of approval and complete eight hours of Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) with one of the eight hours being in ethics. One hour of CLE is equal to one DCP CLE credit. One CLE credit hour shall be computed by the following formula: Sum of the total minutes of actual instruction divided by 60 equals total credit hours (rounded to the nearest 1/10th of a credit hour). Legal education shall be included in computing the total hours of actual instruction. All non-instructional portions of CLE programs (such as breaks and introductory remarks) will NOT be included in the credit hour computation. Three months prior to the renewal date for each DCP, the Vice President will send a letter to the DCP stating that his/her DCP renewal is due and the date by which the renewal information must be received by the Committee. The “Application for CLE Credit to Maintain Delaware Certified Paralegal Credential,” proof of completion of the requisite CLE hours and the two-year renewal fee in effect at the time of renewal shall be submitted to the Committee. A DCP may submit CLE credits obtained during the six-month period immediately preceding the DCP’s approval or renewal. The documentation must be submitted at least one month prior to the DCP’s renewal date. At the time of renewal, a DCP must be employed as a paralegal and must be a Full member of DPA. CLE credits on the following subject matter will be accepted:
CLE credits may be obtained in person, on-line or via audio or video from the following sources:
VII. Revocation of DCP Credential A DCP’s credential may be revoked for the following reasons:
A DCP may appeal the Committee’s revocation decision upon written request to the Board within 30 days of receipt of the decision. Any DCP who has had his/her DCP credential revoked may not reapply for reinstatement for a period of two years from the date of the revocation.
Click here for a printable version of the above standards and procedures. |
