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The Proper Scope Of Nonlawyer Representation In State Administrative Proceedings: A State Specific Balancing Approach, Gregory T. Stevens

Vanderbilt Law Review

Administrative adjudication has become an essential aspect of the American system of government as the need for dispute resolution outside the courtroom increases. To foster alternative dispute resolution, the authorization of nonlawyers to appear as representatives in administrative proceedings presents a viable response to increasing litigation costs and a burdened court system. Accordingly, the federal administrative system, through broad enabling statutes, allows individual agencies to prescribe the proper scope of nonlawyer representation of clients during agency proceedings.1 The individual states, however,have not adopted such a uniform approach. The inability of the individual states to establish an adequate regulatory system largely …