I have previously written about the independent contractor trap in the context of lawyers employing associates as independent contractors instead of employees and the problems they have when these folks leave and file for unemployment benefits. But recently I learned of a different and perhaps more worrisome problem—lawyers who hire independent paralegals to do closing or other administrative work and who have been caught by Department of Labor audits and required to pay fines and make unemployment contributions for their “misclassified” employees.
Paralegals are the lifeblood of most law enterprises, but many firms are too small to warrant full-time employees. Thus, a robust market is developing where paralegals work for many offices on an “as needed” basis. But remember, in Connecticut paralegals can only work for lawyers, and must be supervised by them. Otherwise, they run the risk of being accused of the unauthorized practice of law, which is now a felony. Unfortunately, it is hard to be both independent and be supervised. Therein lies the rub and the source of the Department of Labor problem.
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