I recently completed a real estate course in which extra credit was awarded to students who attended an eviction trial at the courthouse and turned in a report about it. (I'm happy to say that the extra credit meant the difference for me between the A that I got and the B that I avoided.)
While I am knowledgable on my state's landlord-tenant law (it was covered in the course), I was struck by the presence of tenants getting evicted, with no legal representation, and therefore no one to assist or speak for them. (Well, duh...if you're getting evicted because you didn't pay the rent, it's pretty unlikely you've paid to bring a lawyer to court.)
I thought to myself, Hey, this isn't rocket science here. Landlord-tenant law isn't all that complicated (the cases I saw were pretty cut-and-dried, with swift disposition).
So...how about creating some way that non-lawyers can be educated, tested and licensed to represent clients in landlord-tenant matters?
I agree
No opinion
I disagree
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There is no (U.S.) law which requires that anyone have a law degree or any kind of legal training in order to represent someone in a court. There are plenty of legally knowledgeable people out there who are not lawyers but who know their way around proceedings and filings. These are paralegals.
In nearly all jurisdictions with which I am familiar, there are legal aid programs that help indigent clients with legal matters. Licensed attorneys work for these programs on a pro bono or reduced rate basis. These programs typically do a lot of landlord/tenant work.
Help is available, but since clients have little money there is no large incentive to really charge in on a white horse. Your idea is, essentially, already available - hence my "no opinion" vote.
Pay no heed to Vince. He is offering commentary in an area where he must not have any experience. Apparently he has never heard of a concept called the "unauthorized practice of law." This exists both in the state as well as the federal systems.
An admirable idea, but Forbes is right. Love them or hate them, lawyers do have a training beyond paralegals. And the saying "I know enough to be dangerous" applies especially in legal areas. If you screw up a legal proceeding, you can do real damage to a person's life. For example, there are lots of instances where paralegals purport to help immigrants get green cards, but they just end up taking their money and getting them in trouble with the govt.