DEVELOPMENT OF A PARALEGAL TRAINING MODULE:

BASIC PARALEGAL SKILLS

NCMF PARALEGAL PROGRAM25-26 February 2014

Atty. Ray Paolo J. SantiagoExecutive Director

Topics to Consider

Developmental Legal Aid and Social Justice

Role of a Paralegal

Basic Skills NeededPopular EducationKnowledge of the LawDocumentation (Interviewing Clients, Affidavit-

Making, Basic Legal Forms)Alternative Dispute Resolution

Traditional vs. Non-traditional Legal Aid

Seekers of justice first, secondarily lawyers

Focus on social/structural justice

Bias for the poor, towards their empowerment and development

Law not always equals justice

Many roads to justice, and many actors

Social Justice

Definition (includes equitable and fair access to societal institutions, laws, resources, opportunities, without discrimination)

Link with Constitutional Basis (Sections 1 and 2, Article 13 of the Philippine Constitution)

Paralegals

Who is a paralegal?

What does a paralegal do?

Different types of paralegal?

What is the role of a paralegal?

Basic Skills: Popular Education

“Popular” – its priority is to work among the poor who form the vast majority of people in most Third World countries

“Education” – collective or group process of education where the teacher and students learn together beginning with the concrete experience of the participants, leading to reflection on that experience in order to effect positive change

History

Principles

Characteristics

Basic Skills: Knowledge of the Law

Training and Needs Assessment

Government Structure

Katarungang Pambarangay

Pillars of the Criminal Justice System

Basic Criminal Procedure (Arrests, Searches and Seizures)

Basic Skills: Documentation

Interviewing ClientsTips and TechniquesSensitivity

Affidavit-MakingPartsSteps in Making a Complaint-Affidavit

Basic Legal Forms

Basic Skills: Alternative Dispute Resolution

Negotiation Skills

Mediation

Conciliation

Arbitration

Court-Annexed Mediation

Maraming salamat po!