Licensed Paralegal Practitioners
Peck Baxter Watkins & Bailey is pleased to announce that long-time Paralegal, Tonya Wright, was admitted by the Utah Supreme Court as a Licensed Paralegal Practitioner (LPP) on October 20, 2020.
The process of applying for the LPP program, as well as the requirements for admittance, are rigorous and model that of attorneys. The LPP applicants are required to pass an extensive exam in each practice area they seek licensure in, including ethics, which is administered by the Utah State Bar.
Tonya Wright, LPP, ACP has been a litigation paralegal to Shaun L Peck since March 2011. Tonya works with Shaun L Peck and Loren K. Peck on a wide variety of litigation matters; including personal injury, insurance disputes, contract disputes, collection disputes, sexual abuse claims, employment claims, family law, estate disputes, and malpractice claims.
Tonya Wright is a Licensed Paralegal Practitioner in the State of Utah with over 20 years experience working in Law. She was one of the first LPPs in the State of Utah to obtain licensure in all of the practice areas currently available to LPPs: Family Law (temporary separation, divorce, parentage, cohabitant abuse, civil stalking, custody and support, name or gender change, and petitions to recognize a relationship as a marriage); Debt Collections; and Landlord/Tenant disputes.
Tonya is an Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP, Trial Skills) through the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). She served as Chair of the Paralegal Division of the Utah State Bar (2020-2021), as ex officio Immediate Past Chair and Bar Commission Liaison (2021-2022), and was a member of the Board of Directors for the Paralegal Division from 2018-2022. Tonya was the recipient of Utah’s Distinguished Paralegal of the Year award in May of 2023.
Tonya currently serves on the Utah Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Utah LPP Steering Committee.
After working in debt collection for eight years, Tonya moved to Cache Valley and worked as a Deputy Court Clerk at First District and Juvenile Courts in Logan from 2006 to 2011, where she gained experience working in the civil, criminal, domestic and juvenile in-court desks.
TWRIGHT@PECKBAXTER.COM
What is a Licensed Paralegal Practitioner?
A Licensed Paralegal Practitioner is a legal professional who has satisfied requirements pertaining to education, experience, and testing, in order to obtain licensure through the Utah State Bar in limited areas of law. The Utah Supreme Court adopted new rules in 2018, authorizing LPPs to practice law in a limited scope, in order to meet the unmet needs of self-represented litigants at an affordable cost. According to the Narrowing the Access-to-Justice Gap by Reimagining Regulation Report and Recommendations report from The Utah Work Group On Regulatory Reform, at least one party was unrepresented in 93% of civil and family law cases in Utah in 2018.
LPPs are not attorneys. LPPs are licensed in the State of Utah to practice law, without attorney supervision, only in limited areas in which they are licensed. The scope of an LPP’s licensing is narrower than that of an attorney. LPPs can enter into a contractual relationship with their client, interview the client, review documents with the client and explain documents and orders to the client, assist their client with the preparation of court-approved forms, gather facts and information related to the completion of the forms, and sign and file the forms for the client. LPPs can also communicate with opposing counsel on behalf of their client, advocate for their client in mediation, and assist in the settlement of their client’s case, including with the completion of a settlement agreement. LPPs may not orally advocate for their client in court hearings or trials, but they are permitted to sit with their clients to provide support and answer questions.
To learn more about the LPP program in the State of Utah, please visit the Utah State Courts and the Utah State Bar.