This all goes back to attorneys fearing we will replace services that require little actual knowledge of the law.  #1 we are legally unable to help anyone with anything other then ourselves which give us the right as any other citizen to represent themselves in court etc.  Independent paralegals take many forms which help the lawfirms.  Smaller lawfirms utilize those that will come to their offices and replace others on maternity leave or vacation - a temporary service that is hard to fill due to the specialized field.  Second, those of us that work for attorneys perform services that they used to only be able to depend on local couriers to file and/or pick up certified copies etc of documents and/or lawsuits.  Knowledge of the law is very important in these areas and being able to recognize and understand what is in the individual file that the attorney may need.  These things in no way threaten the individual attorney but allow the attorney to depend on a person that they could not possibly afford to hire as a professional runner on a full-time basis with the knowledge that actual paralegals have.  It saves them time and saves their clients money.  I have usually gotten my attorney clients by saying I really hate to know that someone is being charged anywhere for 150.00 up to sit here in the clerk's office to find documents when they could be using me!  That is exactly the line I use and introduce myself and give them my card - everytime they have become my client and actually are some of the fastest payers!