Volunteer paralegals are generally selected based on a written review and interview conducted by the respective county legal authority. Paralegal volunteers provide information about SLSA/DLSA/TLSC/HCLSC/SCLSC legal services activities to people in their area and share their addresses with people so that they can use the free services provided by the above organizations to eligible individuals. The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) does not have a formal policy regarding the pro bono work of paralegals, but the commentary on Directive No. 4 of the NALA Model Standards and Guidelines for the Use of Legal Assistants states: “The employment relationship between counsel and legal assistant should, to the extent possible, extend to cooperative efforts in public service activities. Canon 1.4 of the National Federation of Paralegal Association (NFPA) Model Code of Professional Conduct and Liability and Guidelines for the Application of the Act states that each paralegal shall endeavour each year to provide twenty-four (24) hours of pro bono services under the supervision of a lawyer or as authorized by an administrative authority, statutory or judicial. In 1999, the NFPA adopted ABA Model Rule 6.1 Definition of Pro Bono. Volunteer paralegals may receive per diems and reasonable costs incurred by volunteer paralegals, such as travel, postage, telephone expenses, etc. may be reimbursed by TLSC/DLSA/SLSA upon presentation of appropriate evidence. The Paralegals` Office was established by the national legal service authorities with the aim of providing legal assistance and raising citizens` awareness of legal rights and obligations. District Legal Services Authorities appoint and hire volunteer paralegals in legal aid clinics under county jurisdiction. Minimum academic qualification to become a volunteer paralegal – Apart from this, volunteer paralegals may also fulfill the duty of mediators to resolve public disputes through arbitration. Efforts are being made to overcome bitterness between the parties and maintain good relations between them. When resolving disputes, volunteer paralegals are expected to work very patiently and without bias to defend the claimant or respondent.
In 2009, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) launched a program called the Para-Legal Volunteers Scheme, which aimed to provide legal training to selected volunteers from different settings to ensure that legal aid reached all populations through the Paralegal Volunteers Program process. Ultimately, barriers to access to justice will be removed. Paralegal volunteers (POS) are supposed to act as intermediaries to bridge the gap between ordinary people and legal service institutions to remove barriers to access to justice. Ultimately, the process is intended to ensure that legal service institutions reach the people at their doorsteps and not the people who turn to those legal service institutions. Job postings at Paralegal Volunteer are flagged from time to time by relevant departments through Employment News, government newspapers and job postings, etc. According to the 2011 census report, 68.84% of the total population in India resides in villages. Of these inhabitants, 33.8 per cent live below the poverty line. Section 39A of the Constitution of India instructs the State to provide free legal assistance to all Indian citizens. The article goes on to state that legal aid should not be denied to any citizen because of economic or other obstacles.
With the change in the concept of legal services in India from “legal services based on the layers of the Court Annex” to “needs-based user-friendly system”, the importance of the paralegal practitioner in society has recently emerged. The definition of paralegal varies from country to country. In the United States, they are not allowed to provide legal services in the same way as lawyers, nor are they court officials, and they are generally not subject to state- or court-sanctioned codes of conduct. In contrast, in some provinces in Canada, paralegals are just as licensed and regulated as lawyers. For example, in the Canadian province of Ontario, licensed paralegals provide licensed legal services to the public and appear before certain subordinate and lower administrative tribunals. Volunteer paralegals are responsible for educating people and encouraging them to exercise their legal rights. Volunteer paralegals are also responsible for raising awareness of the benefits of resolving disputes and complaints in the pre-litigation phase through instrumental adalates, arbitration, mediation and arbitration. POS are not only supposed to raise awareness of the laws and the legal system, but they must also be trained to self-advise and amicably resolve simple disputes between parties at the source. This could avoid those affected having to go to the legal services authority or alternative dispute resolution centres. If the dispute is of such a nature that it cannot be resolved at source with the help of the LCVs, they could refer these parties to the alternative dispute resolution centres, where they could be referred to the Lok Adalat or mediation centre with the assistance of the relevant secretary, or legal assistance could be provided for the decision before a court; depending on the nature of the problem.
If the POS receives information about the arrest of a person on the spot, it goes to the police station and ensures that the arrested person receives legal assistance, if necessary through the nearest legal aid structures. Recently, several significant attempts have been made by the judicial authorities to provide cheap, accessible and expeditious justice to ordinary citizens in India. The appointment of volunteer paralegals to legal aid clinics in various fields on behalf of the Régie des services juridiques is one of them. In 2009, the National Legal Service Authority (NLSA) reviewed informal practices related to grassroots organizations and published a “formal paralegal volunteer program” which, for the first time, formally aimed to provide legal training to selected volunteers from different backgrounds.