What a Legal Document Assistant Can and Cannot Do in California

The role is defined in statute

California Business and Professions Code section 6400 defines a Legal Document Assistant as a person qualified to prepare legal documents for a consumer who is representing themselves in a legal matter — at that consumer's specific direction.

Two phrases in that definition carry all the weight. 'Representing themselves' means an LDA works only with people who do not have an attorney on the matter. 'At your specific direction' means you decide what the documents say, and the LDA writes it down accurately.

What an LDA may do

The permitted work is substantial, and for a lot of matters it is the whole job:

• Prepare legal documents and court forms at your specific direction
• Provide general published factual information about court procedures and filing requirements
• Provide access to, and copies of, legal documents and forms published by the courts
• Type, assemble, copy and organise your paperwork
• File documents with the court and prepare service paperwork at your direction

What an LDA may not do

The prohibited list is shorter but absolute. An LDA may not:

• Give legal advice, an opinion, or a recommendation about a legal matter
• Select forms for you, or tell you what to file
• Explain how the law applies to your specific circumstances
• Represent you, or speak for you, in court
• Predict what a judge will decide
• Take on a matter where you already have an attorney

The disclosure is required, not decorative

California requires an LDA's advertising to include a specific statement: 'I am not an attorney. I can only provide self-help services at your specific direction.'

If you see it on every page of an LDA's website, that is the requirement being met rather than a business being unusually modest. If you do not see it anywhere, that is worth noticing.

Registration and bonding

Legal Document Assistants register with the county clerk in each county where they do business, and registration involves a bond. Registrations carry a number and an expiration date.

You are entitled to ask for that number. An LDA who will not give you one, or whose registration has lapsed, is not one you should hand your court paperwork to.

How to tell when you actually need an attorney

There is no clean rule, but there are reliable signals. If the other side has a lawyer, if the matter is contested, if there is real money or real risk involved, or if the question you keep wanting to ask starts with 'should I' — you are looking for advice, and advice is attorney work.

A good LDA will tell you this before taking your money rather than after. It is the clearest sign you are dealing with someone who understands their own role.

Free help exists too

The Shasta County Superior Court operates a self-help centre and a family law facilitator's office, both of which assist self-represented people at no cost. Legal Services of Northern California also serves the Redding area.

An LDA is worth paying for when you want the paperwork prepared, checked and filed properly rather than done yourself with guidance. Both routes are legitimate.