Suit Claims Paralegal Service Went Too Far

A civil lawsuit filed against an Oxnard paralegal service alleges that the owners falsely claimed to be lawyers and rendered specific legal opinions for clients that the law permits only licensed attorneys to provide.

The district attorney’s office also alleges in the suit that Theresa and Oscar Snow misrepresented their paralegal service as “state certified” even though the state does not certify paralegals.

Theresa Snow, a paralegal at Snow’s Paralegal & Associates Inc., denied ever representing herself as anything other than a paralegal and said the complaints were prompted by local attorneys who begrudge the low-cost legal services the Snows provide.

“We’re big in the area and we have a lot of business,” Theresa Snow said. “The complaint is fueled by attorneys in the area who are losing business to us.”

Mary Peace, the deputy district attorney who filed the lawsuit on Thursday, said the issue is not the fee the Snows charge but whether someone who is not an attorney is claiming to be one.

“Whether low fee or not, [Snow] is not allowed to give [specific] legal advice,” Peace said. “The issue is whether you give legal advice and you are not an attorney, then the public should be protected. Nothing else.”

Paralegals are allowed to help clients complete legal forms, such as those needed to file a will, contest a divorce or obtain power of attorney.

Theresa Snow said that because her husband, Oscar, was neither a paralegal nor an attorney, he acted as business manager and she provided the paralegal services.

Snow said that in response to a complaint last year from the district attorney’s office, she revised her Yellow Pages ad to read the firm’s paralegal services were certified, rather than “state certified.”

The half a dozen allegations against the Snows for false and misleading advertising and unfair and unlawful business practices could result in a maximum $2,500 fine for each violation.

Theresa Snow said it was not improper for her to state that she is attending law school because she is a student in the School of Law at the Southern California University for Professional Studies in Santa Ana.

A clerk with the registrar’s office said Snow was taking classes toward a bachelor of science degree in law and that the school’s juris doctorate program would require a separate application.