The paralegal profession in the state of California is governed by California Business and Professions Code sections 6450 et al.  California Business and Professions Code section 6450(d) states the following:

Every two years, commencing January 1, 2007, any person that is working as a paralegal shall be required to certify completion of four hours of mandatory continuing legal education in legal ethics and four hours of mandatory continuing legal education in general law or in an area of specialized law.  All continuing legal education courses shall meet the requirements of Section 6070.  Certification of these continuing education requirements shall be made with the paralegal’s supervising attorney.  The paralegal shall be responsible for keeping a record of the paralegal’s certifications.

Please identify the current compliance period, and discuss the benefits and consequences of how this compliance period is statutorily defined.  Please compare this compliance period with the compliance period for attorneys.  (See Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 6070.)

To be eligible to receive the $1,000 scholarship, a student member must write a 500-word, double-spaced, 12-pt. font size essay and submit it to the Professional Development Committee Chair at professionaldevelopment@sfpa.com no later than Monday, October 1, 2012.  The winner of the scholarship will receive the award at the Association's Annual Meeting, to be held on Thursday, October 18, 2012 at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) at 654 Mission Street in San Francisco, CA.  If you have any questions about the scholarship, please send your questions to info@sfpa.com.  We look forward to receiving your essays!